Makit - Hotan : 537km
Liaison : 0km
SS : 403km
Liaison : 134k
Stage 5 marks the second bivouac transfer, the Taklamakan Rally waves goodbye to Kashgar and move on to Hotan.
For the auto, the firs half of the special stage overlaps partially with that of yesterday, which means that pilots can follow the previous wheel tracks and thus reduce the time spent in the navigation.The real test starts with the high sandy zone in the second half, which is no less difficult than the previous 2 stages. Patience with precise navigation is the key to the success. When the pilots set feet on the gravel road, it means they are on their way to the finish line.
Zhang Guoyu / Oriol Mena is the first group to arrive in the bivouac, followed by Tao Yongming/Wang Jirong in JJ3 and Zi Yungang / Wang Zengrong from Yun Xiang Team. According to Zi Yungang, “I am quite satisfied with the performance today, I started this moring the 6th and arrive the 3rd, the dunes are huge, but luckily the stage of dunes does not lasts long. After that it is high-speed stage, I get my teamates both in front and behind me, I feel at ease today. ” Till 18:00 local time, 30 racing vehicles have arrvied at the bivouac.
For the reason of security, the special stage for moto today ends in the point 240km, the pilots will withdraw from this PC point and start their 2nd liaison. The first pilot to arrive at the finish line is Bredley John Cox in KTM, followed by his teamate Arunas Gelazninkas and Neels Theric in KOVE. The Fang family both have arrived in the bivouac, the father Fang Mingji said:“The last 200 km I barely see other cars, I feel I’m the only moto in the stage, that feels good!” The son added: “This stage is less difficult that stage 3, though it rains several times but the weather is comfortable, the moto works well, so do I.”
However, one man’s treasure might be another man’s trash. This stage is definitely not a good souvenir for Yuan Bo, “The screen located at the head of my moto is broken after several big bumps, the electronic roadbook is disconnected, no navigation, I can only follow the tracks in the stages. When the auto comes, the situation becomes worse, since the overtaking alarm doesn’t work either, I need constantly turn my head back to watch whether there are autos who want to overpass me, it’s dangerous to be in the track of 180km/hour auto.”
Tomorrow in Hotan, the competitors will have their second rest day. The pilots might feel a sense of release since the “the hardest days in the dunes” were left behind and the overall classification is becoming more and more clear.
Source Taklimakan Rally
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