In the second of the Dakar's 12 stages, Brazilian drivers continue their strategy with good results
It was expected: with the competitive Audi RS Q E-Tron E2, which had already won the prologue on Friday (5) with Swedes Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergqvist, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel achieved yet another record. During the second stage of the 2024 edition of the Dakar Rally on Sunday, the super-champion achieved his 50th victory in a stage of the event, which he has been competing in since 1988 and of which he has been champion 14 times (eight in the Car category and six in the Motorcycle category). With this feat, he equaled the record held by the "flying Finn" Ari Vatanen, a four-time Dakar champion who has now retired.
The pace of the Audi continues to impress, even with the negative prediction of the current five-time champion, Nasser Al-Attiya from Santa Catarina: "They won't make it past the third day of the race" - a prediction that is unlikely to come true, from what we can see so far. Audi is also in the lead over the two days, with the Spaniards Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz.
Among the Brazilians, in the main category, Cars, Lucas Moraes repeated the strategy that won him the podium in the 2023 edition of the race, when he made his Dakar debut: adopting a moderate pace at the start to avoid breakdowns later in the race. Even so, the Brazilian, who finished ninth on today's stage together with Spanish navigator Armand Monleón, could have been faster and arrived further ahead if he hadn't been hindered by Lithuanian Zaidotas Zala (Mini Cooper Works Rally Plus), who was slower and didn't give way, as is mandatory in rallies for safety reasons. Lucas and Monleón are defending the Toyota Gazoo Racing team with a GR DKR Hilux T1+ model and, over the two days of racing, they are in eighth place.
"But we're in the top ten, which means we're close to the leaders, so we're well placed to finish this Dakar well. We're going to focus on each day individually, always thinking about doing well at the end," explained the driver, who has the support of Red Bull, Repsol, Strava, Oakley and Zapalla.
"Overall, it was a very difficult special. There were a lot of erosions crossing the track and sometimes they appeared out of nowhere, in sections where we were going very fast. We passed two cars right at the start of the race, so we were the fourth car in the section. We managed to 'survive' well and finish in the top 10," he said.
Another good result was recorded by the duo Rodrigo Varela/Enio Bozzano Júnior, in the UTV T4 category, who won Saturday's special, but today had navigation problems and finished in ninth place - still a very competitive position considering the total distance of the race.
The duo, who are sponsored by Divino Fogão/Can-Am/Motul/Quadrijet and defend the Team Brazil team, made up of family members and national technicians, are now in second place in the overall standings. Due to pirate attacks in the region where the ship taking their car to Saudi Arabia, the venue for the race, was due to pass through, they are competing with a makeshift car and no spare parts. "We missed a way point - a mandatory passage through a timing point - and that's why we got a 15-minute penalty. If it hadn't been for that mistake, we would have won the second special as well, as we did yesterday," explains Rodrigo Varela. "It was a shame, but it's part of this competition, which is very long and requires total concentration. We failed at that key moment, unfortunately. But we're still second overall and fighting for the top spot," continued the South American rally-raid champion, who is making his Dakar debut.
Brazil scored its third special victory on Sunday with first place for Marcelo Medeiros (Yamaha Raptor 700, supported by Mardisa/Viação Estrela/Taguatur Fiat/Sedel) in the Quadricycle category. This was Medeiros' second win in a row, and he continues to lead the overall Quadricycle standings. The other victory was for the Varela/Bozzano duo in the UTV T4, in the special debut of South American champion Rodrigo Varela.
Marathon special - The race opens this Monday (08) with the so-called "marathon", a combination of two special stages that bring extra technical challenges for the teams. This Monday's section will be 438km long, between Al Duwadimi and Al Salamiya, always in Saudi territory. The route has different types of terrain, from rocky areas to vast expanses of sand and the dreaded large dunes, making the overall speed a little slower than on previous days.
As a complicating element for drivers, navigators and mechanics, at the end of the day they will only have two hours to make repairs and adjustments to their vehicles
Automatic translation of the Brazilian Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source:BestPR
Photo: MCH Photo/TGR
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