Tough stage in the desert and some surprising winners

The third racing day of Fenix Rally 2023 offered the competitors the first real battle with the dunes (and dunettes). The loop with start and finish in Ksar Ghilane offered one single stage with 230 kilometers against the clock.
The day started with short distance of fast gravel and sandy pistes and then the competitors crossed the big dunes of Zmela followed by a stretch of technical dunettes. The big dune was actually the biggest obstacle for the day, where some vehicles stuck seriously. Those who managed to escape, faced nice graves pistes, another dune passage, and tricky gravel roads along the valley and the flat part east of Ksar Ghilane.
It was really interesting in the car class, where the stage was won by a driver with car, usually seen on the extreme tracks of the RBI races. And it was the Mos 1 proto of the Estonian pilot Tarvo Klaasimae. Moreover, his compatriot Hardo Mere, also with extreme class vehicle, took the second place. Third for the day was Rik Van Den Brink from Nederland with Mitsubishi
As for the SSVs, the French driver Frederic Henricy (Polaris) managed the best in the dunes and claim the stage win. The second place went to Marcin Graczyk from Poland with Can-Am and the third to Dalius Olechnavicius from Lithuania, also with Can-Am.
From the light “cavalry”, definitely the quads were fastest in the sands. An it was Rafal Jawien from Poland, who claimed his second daily win. His compatriot and teammate from Polaris Polska Racing Team Marcin Wilkolek post the second-best time and Gaetan Martinez from France with Can-Am completed top 3.
Sebastien Tocaben from France (KTM) was the man who has deal the best with the dunes and he finished in front of reigning Fenix Rally champion Matthew Gird from South Africa (KTM). Third place in leg 2 was for the Italian rider Luca Marinone (Yamaha).
Because of the long and heavy stage, the trucks were not completed the stage when releasing the information for leg 2, but from the preliminary information, the best time went to Carsten Felten from Germany with MAN.
Leg 3 will offer the second loop around Ksar Ghilane was planned with some 273 kilometers of timed section. But the organizers decided to cut the track to 140 kilometers with late start in 12AM, because of the late arrival of many competitors. The route will offer WRC-type gravel roads with some tricky and curvy parts in east and north of Ksar Ghilane, as well as some sandy tracks and few dunes to conquer.

Source RBI / Fenix Rally