The Repsol Toyota Rally Team continues to make progress on the Dakar, and this Monday moved up to a positive 28th place overall, 20th among the T1+ cars, after gaining three places on the third stage, between Al Duwadimi and Al Salamiya. And this despite the persistent electrical problem with the accelerator, which has caused Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos to lose valuable minutes in the 437 kilometers timed.
The driver from Oliana (Lleida) and the co-driver from Calonge (Girona) started the special once again strong. They soon caught up with the car that preceded them in the starting order, but it was 80 kilometers before they found the opportunity to overtake him. They were going well, riding at a good pace and comfortably inside the absolute Top 30 for about 150 kilometers, until they had a puncture at kilometer 200.
The problem lies in the throttle control potentiometer on the steering wheel that Isidre Esteve uses to drive; there are times when it stops working and the car stops. "That has made us have a terrible time in the dunes; three times it has stopped when we were leaning in a dune and we have been hooked. It was hard to get out of there and we lost a lot of time", explains the driver from Lleida.
"The only positive thing is that we know it's an electrical problem with the connection pins; that is, we already know which part of the problem is wrong. But we have to solve it," he says. The Spanish team supported by Repsol, MGS Seguros, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain and KH-7 finished the third special stage in 38th place overall (26th in T1+), 35 and a half minutes behind the leader.
Nevertheless, Isidre Esteve keeps his hopes intact. "I'm having a lot of fun with the car. The Toyota is going very, very well. We're fast and we're looking forward to the race," he says. "We have to wait," he adds, knowing that as soon as they solve the problem with the adapted steering wheel controls, they will be able to bring out all their race pace.
At the end of the day, the teams had two hours of assistance before heading to the Al Salamiya bivouac, where the second part of this marathon stage will start this Tuesday, with destination Al-Hofuf. The special stage will be 299 kilometers out of a total of 698 kilometers, mostly on dirt tracks, although there will also be dunes, sand and rocks, with complicated navigation.
Automatic translation of the Spanish version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally Team's official press release
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