One day is not the other for Koen Wauters (Toyota Hilux). Monday morning his Toyota came down hard on the nose while descending a dune and he had to give up. The team is doing everything possible to get the car roadworthy for Tuesday's stage. Pascal Feryn (Toyota Hilux) finished 15th on Monday. Nicola Feryn (Toyota Landcruiser) continues his learning process, punctured several times and finished 31st. Cedric Feryn (Mercedes) crossed the finish line in 5th truck.
After his handsome fourth place on Sunday, Koen Wauters and Tom De Leeuw started the third stage on Monday morning. “At the beginning of the stage there was a dune belt of about 35 km,” Koen Wauters began his explanation. “We were on the road for 11 km when we hit a dune name followed by a plateau after which it suddenly went down steeply. The dune turned out to be cut down. You don't see something like that, you undergo it. A few seconds later the car hit the nose. Tom and myself were ok, got out and started a check-up which showed that the steering box was badly damaged and there was nothing to do but send for the broom truck.”
Several hours later, the bivouac was reached and the team immediately began a thorough round of inspections. “Our mechanics are currently looking at what we can do to get the car roadworthy for tomorrow. Tom and myself would really like to continue driving, but it has to be possible and, above all, it has to be safe. Several hours and many sighs later. If we had landed about 2 meters to the right, there would have been nothing wrong. But that is not the case. That fourth place on Sunday gave us confidence but did not make us overconfident. We started with the same attitude as Saturday and Sunday, with the same enthusiasm and drive but unfortunately with a different result. All hope to ride on lies with my fantastic mechanics. If they say there is hope then there is,” Koen Wauters concluded.
Pascal Feryn had a pretty good day, not counting two punctures. “The first puncture was my own fault. In a sea of sand I didn't see one big stone, bumped into it after which we had to stop to change the wheel. The second time was a few kilometers from the finish. We were riding along the coastline that was littered with sharp stones. One drove a tire to pieces. Two kilometers from the finish, I stopped by an unfortunate participant who no longer had a wheel to give him my third spare. Solidarity belongs in a race like this. This morning I had some stress before the first dunes but once I started it completely disappeared. Tomorrow a tough stage of 526 km awaits us.”
Nicola Feryn and David Van Doren (Toyota Landcruiser) finished 31st although it should be immediately mentioned that the classic cars and trucks drove around the dunes and consequently the times are difficult to compare with those of the other competitors. Every day is a new and instructive day. I am satisfied with our approach. David is doing an excellent job as co-pilot. I am very satisfied with how he is my guide in the desert. Fantastic. It was a cassante stage at times. Like many other participants, we had flat tires, even twice. When you only have one spare tire left, you automatically drive differently. The last 60 km we were a bit more careful”, concludes Nicola Feryn.
Cedric Feryn, Bjor Burgelman and Alexander Peeters also ignored the dunes with their classic truck. “After the dunes there were still some sturdy hills to follow. During the descent of one, there was an impact on the left side which caused the steering rod to bend and a spring blade to break. But that didn't stop us from riding to the finish. At the end, like many other participants, we looked for the finish line. But all in all a good day, just like Sunday. Too bad about the little incident where we got stuck in the mud. A baby carriage was unlucky so we had to swerve to the right. On sight everything seemed fine but soon we slipped into a deep track hidden under a layer of dust. With some help we were able to continue driving after about an hour,” said Cedric Feryn.
Source: Feryn Dakar Sport
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