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Brazilians regain second place in the Dakar
Rodrigo Varela/Enio Bozzano Júnior duo's adventure gets another boost: the pair are now close to the frontrunners
The debut of South American Rally Raid champion Rodrigo Varela in partnership with navigator Enio Bozzano Júnior in the 2024 edition of the Dakar Rally continues to attract attention. After several incidents, which forced them to hastily replace the car with improvised equipment, the duo has shown that the Dakar spirit of adventure has taken hold of Team Brazil, a team made up of family members and national technicians. On Wednesday (10), Varela and Bozzano finished in fourth place in the 118km special stage between Al Hofuf and Shubaytah, in Saudi Arabia, a result that brought them back to second place in the UTV T4 category. Despite the problems with the car, the lack of parts and support equipment, the pair are still among the favorites.
"We drove very well today. We had a lot of dunes, it wasn't easy going up and down, we had to push ourselves to keep our focus on driving and navigation. Thank God everything worked out. And we had another good day," commented Rodrigo Varela. "We've already completed five of the twelve days of racing. There are still seven to go, so there's a lot of racing ahead. But we're very happy with what we're achieving," he added.
The French duo Xavier de Soultrait/Martin Bonnet (Polaris RZR Pro R) won Wednesday's special in the UTV T4 category. Over the five days, the Swiss Jerome de Sadeleer and the Frenchman Michael Metge (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo) have taken the lead. With the result, Varela and Bozzano have reduced the gap to the top of the overall standings from 19 minutes to five. The Brazilian team is supported by Divino Fogão, Can-Am, Motul and Quadrijet.
Automatic translatio of the Brazilian Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source BestPR
Helder