Three punctures and two hours of night driving penalized the team
The duo Mário Franco/Daniel Jordão from Franco Sport, at the controls of the Yamaha YXZ 1000R Turbo T3 that competes in the Challenger category, successfully overcame the very tough stage that welcomed participants to the 2024 Dakar Rally. Lots of rocks and dust were ingredients to which were added three punctures and two hours of night driving, which greatly penalized the team.
“It was an extremely tough stage, with a lot of rocks, perhaps the most difficult stage I've ever done, that's for sure, but there are many experienced riders here who say it was one of the most complicated stages. Lots of rocks, lots of rocks, lots of rocks… Three punctures with two spare wheels prevented us from achieving a better result, but it was a good experience. We had the opportunity to better understand how the car worked and so my assessment, despite everything, is positive. We overcame this first challenge” explained Mário Franco after arriving at the bivouac in Al Henakiyah at the end of this first stage in Saudi Arabia.
Daniel Jordão, on his debut in the premier race, adds that “for me it was a beautiful baptism in the Dakar, it was a great adventure, with many adventures in between, but we achieved our first objective, which was to bring the car to the end. We did two hours at night with very difficult navigation and a lot of dust, but we have the idea that we have the momentum to fight for a place in the top 10 and so we are excited and very motivated for tomorrow's stage”.
Tomorrow, January 7th, the second stage of the Dakar Rally will take place, starting competitors on the sand as they will have to overcome 30 km of dunes that day. 470 timed km will be contested in this stage that connects Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi.
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Franco Sport's official press release
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