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Dakar 2024: School day for Baumgart brothers in Dakar
Brazilian X Rally drivers completed the 299 timed kilometers of the fourth stage with the Prodrive Hunter, ending a marathon day and keeping an eye on the dunes in the coming days
The fourth stage of the Dakar, held this Tuesday (9) between Al Salamiya and Al-Hofuf, in Saudi Arabia, had a total of 631 kilometers at the end of the marathon stage, in which the maintenance and repair service on competition vehicles it was limited to just two hours. In a stage won by Prodrive Hunter by Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin, it was the Brazilian pairs formed by Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea and Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti, who also enjoy the same structure, who had what they considered “a day of class”.
Marcos and Kleber finished the race in 15th place, while Cristian and Beco, who found themselves struggling with another competitor's car that was not giving way, finished in 21st time.
After the third stage, drivers and navigators left their vehicles in a closed park and all competitors were equipped with supplies to spend the night – including camping tents. “We survived the marathon stage and the freezing night in camp, sleeping in tents. It was fun, seeing everyone together and leaving feeling rested for another day. It was a different experience”, narrated Marcos Baumgart.
The freezing Tuesday morning in Al Hofuf, with seven degrees in the desert, was a challenge for some competitors, but also a learning experience, in the words of Cristian Baumgart: “The fun yesterday was sleeping in a tent, especially early today when dismounting and save. Beco had to watch a tutorial on YouTube (laughs), and it was fun. Very cold at night and in the morning too.”
The fourth stage, despite being shorter than the previous days, had some setbacks for Baumgart and Andreotti, who occupy 21st place in the overall cumulative list among cars. “We managed to start well, but we had difficulty overtaking a car in front of us: we passed them two or three times; then we got lost in a moment and they passed us by again; and when we approached they wouldn’t give way,” he complained. “At least, tomorrow we will start in front of them, and the stretch will be 100% dunes, which is very good for our car”, he added.
In addition to learning how to dismantle the camping tent, Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea had another “class” in this fourth stage, in their own words. Courtesy of the current Dakar runner-up and nine-time world rally champion, Sébastien Loeb, teammate of the Brazilians at Prodrive – and winner of this Tuesday's stage (9).
“Today’s special was a really cool stretch, with a lot of dunes, and we even had a private lesson with Sebastien Loeb, which for me was a great learning experience. We followed him for a long time and learned a lot by studying the way he walks, how he attacks certain obstacles, in short, it was really good”, he concluded.
The fifth stage reserves the shortest Dakar special with just 118 timed kilometers. The stretch has a total of 645 kilometers, including travel, between Al Hofuf and Shubaytah.
The X Rally Team is sponsored by Vedacit, Motul, BF Goodrich, Rodobens, Center Norte, Rock and Opaoma.
Automatic translation of the Brazilian Portuguese version
Source X-Rally Team
Photo: A.S.O. / DPPI
Helder