The first stage of the Dakar Rally was a real challenge for Rui Gonçalves, who chose to adopt a cautious pace over the 414 km that were run against the clock today.
It is true to say that the real opening stage of the Dakar 2024 did not disappoint anyone with a level of difficulty that was already expected, but that is not usually found at the beginning of this marathon held in the desert of Saudi Arabia.
More than four hundred kilometers of the special were completed by Rui Gonçalves in 5h31m, just over 30m behind the winner. The route proved to be extremely demanding in terms of driving with winding, laborious tracks full of extremely demanding navigation.
Right from the initial kilometers, Rui Gonçalves was unable to find his way with his bike and the terrain. The lack of confidence led to Gonçalves making some navigational errors that led him to lose several minutes to his most direct opponents.
However, the Sherco driver is confident for the remaining days of competition and will take advantage of the few hours of rest in Al Henakiyah to focus on Sunday's new challenge. This stage will connect Al Henakiyah and Al Duwadimi for a total of 654 km (462 timed km). The highlight of this stage is 30 km of dunes, one of Rui Gonçalves' favorite surfaces, but also a lot of navigation that will require extra attention to navigation, a day that will once again consist of many hours on the bike.
Rui Gonçalves: “We had a very long day with a special stage lasting more than 400 km and with a lot of rocks. It was also an extremely complicated stage in terms of navigation, with many changes of direction. Right after I started the special, I didn't feel very good on the bike and I chose not to risk too much. Even so, I made a navigation error that lost me a lot of time and made me lose a lot of confidence. As I reached the end of the stage, I again failed in navigation, losing another 5m. I would like to highlight the crashes suffered by some riders that left them out of the race, including Joaquim Rodrigues, a long-time friend to whom I wish a speedy recovery. In general everything is OK, this Rally is going to be very long and very tough and today was just the first stage. The objective now is to recover for tomorrow, where we will try to achieve a good result. As usual, I would like to thank everyone for the enormous support they have given me, which is extremely important to me."
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Rui Gonçalves's official press release
Photos: Rally Zone
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
