Back to the usual race discipline for the Repsol Toyota Rally Team. After Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos' feat in the 48-hour time trial and after spending the theoretical rest day traveling by road to Riyadh, the Spanish team has disputed this Sunday the seventh stage of the Dakar as if nothing had happened. After a long special stage of 483 timed kilometers, between the Saudi capital and Ha'il, they finished 30th overall and 18th among the T1+ cars.
Thus, Esteve and Villalobos are not only still in the race, but have regained the pace and good feelings that have been the common denominator of the team in the race (Dakar odysseys aside). This Sunday they raced for 5 hours, 47 minutes and 29 seconds, in what was the longest special stage of the race (after the marathon in the Empty Quarter), 50 minutes behind the leader. With this Top 30, they have fulfilled their goal of earning a good starting position for the next stage.
"I had fun, even if we had to overtake a lot of vehicles (cars, buggies, motorcycles...) in the dust, because we started far behind, in 113th place, and we finished at night; the last 20 kilometers I couldn't see the track. I'm sure that starting tomorrow we'll do better; I'm looking forward to racing and trying to do good stages, and I'm sure that will be the case", ventures the Repsol, MGS Seguros, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain and KH-7 driver.
However, getting to the end of this seventh stage has not been easy, after the odyssey of the 48-hour time trial, which they completed yesterday morning, when the rest of the caravan was already in Riyadh for the rest day. "On Saturday we arrived in Riyadh after 20:00 (local time) and the mechanics had to work all night to get the car ready. I'm sorry the team didn't get their well-deserved rest day. Now the car is working very well, as always, and I'm having fun at the wheel again", says the driver from Oliana (Lleida).
However, such a long stage and in such a tough Dakar as this 46th edition, the fifth in Saudi Arabia, has not been without difficulties for the Repsol Toyota Rally Team. "At kilometer 170 we had a puncture. As there were still 300 kilometers to go, I eased off a bit. But a little further on, at 200 km, we had to stop again because we noticed something strange in the behavior of the car. A front shock absorber had broken, but we were able to finish without losing any more time and with a good classification", explains Esteve.
All in all, everyone's effort has allowed the Spanish team to keep going in the race, with all the stages completed and maintaining a position in the general standings, where the 235th Toyota Hilux T1+ is 77th.
This Monday, the Dakar 2024 adventure continues with the eighth stage, which will include another very long special stage, 458 kilometers timed, between Al Duwadimi and Ha'il. The route will be very varied and complete, with tracks, sand, dunes and rocks.
Automatic translation of the Spanish version avaliable on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally
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