António Maio completed another stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally, this time the fourth that connected Al Salamiya to Al-Hofuf in Saudi Arabia. The Yamaha rider finished the 299 km timed event that made up today's special in 22nd place and now occupies 25th place overall.
The GNR ( Portuguese National Guard) Major spent 3h15m40s completing this special, which started very early and proved to be quite complex in terms of navigation. Despite the difficulty of the journey, António Maio is confident and believes that the Top20 in the general motorcycle classification is within his reach.
“Today was a long day. We started very early with a 200km connection, did a 300km special and at the end we did another 200km connection to the camp. It was a bittersweet stage because I had a good pace, but I made some navigation errors that lost me some time. Overall it was a good stage, I didn't fall, I'm physically fine with no pain or injuries, the bike is in great shape and Bruno is doing an excellent job. Now it’s time to prepare for tomorrow’s journey, which will be quite tough”, said António Maio.
Tomorrow the caravan advances to the fifth stage of the race, which takes place between Al-Hofuf and Shubaytah, where 645km will be completed between the selective sector and the connection. This journey marks the entry of competitors into the challenging Empty Quarter. 118 km of special will be contested between sand trails and dunes, with only a few competitors being able to reach the camp in Shubaytah before sunset.
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Antonio Maio's official press release
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