The start of the 2024 Dakar Rally is looking more than promising for Laia Sanz. In the fourth stage, which completed the first marathon of the present edition, KH-7 gave another demonstration of its potential to finish in the 14th absolute position, a little more than 16 minutes after the first, and in the third of its category –la T1.2, reserved for vehicles with two motor wheels–. This result improves the record she established a couple of days ago, when she was 16th, a classification that we knew then that she would soon surpass. Overall, she wins three points and is 17th overall, although in 4x2 she remains second.
In the special of this Mars that has passed between Salamiya and Al-Hofuf (Saudi Arabia), of 698 total and 299 timed kilometers, the Corbera de Llobregat (Barcelona) has followed its own road to perfection. Ayer wanted to preserve the mechanics, dispensing with the classification, to attack more today, with the peace of mind that at the end of the day he would recover the assistance service of the Astara Team.
“We knew that today would be the best day to get a little more done. At first, it took a while for me to find the rhythm. We made a small navigational error that cost us a couple or three minutes, but after that we went much better; We worked very hard on Maurizio and you, helping us and solving the difficulties of the trip. There were some points that, placed in the octopus of other coaches, were difficult while navigating, because with less visibility the coast meant finding the correct path, but we overcame everything well. The final part of the stage was clearer and more open. We had a lot of fun in the last 30 kilometers on the dunes”, she comments satisfactorily.
For the moment, the Catalan pilot, co-piloted by the Italian Maurizio Gerini, is suffering from her destiny in what is her third participation in coaches, thanks to the good functioning of the 02 Concept and the entire team. A slow step that she doesn't doubt about recognizing and thanking: “We're going to be much better than the last year. I knew that the car was more competitive than the other, but it was just as much. The entire team is working very well, and at the moment we are having the fortune that we are not having any problem that holds us back. Let’s play wood!”
The straight line for the Spanish-Italian duo will be to face the attraction of dunes that has prepared the organization on the menu for the next few days, when Dakar will enter the dreaded Empty Quarter (empty place). “We will see how we go with a single-wheel drive car along the back streets on these most complicated dunes that await us, although at the moment it is going very well”.
Soon, this last minute, the KH-7 pilot and his co-pilot will have to complete a 118-kilometer special stage 100% on the arena, after having previously covered a link of more than 500 kilometers.
Automatic translation of the original Spanish version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: KH-7/Sport, Laia Sanz's official press release
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