Portuguese rider lost 15 minutes in the first stage of the Dakar Rally 2025
The prologue that yesterday defined the starting order for the first stage saw António Maio, the Franco Sport Yamaha Racing Team rider, third on the track for the opening stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally. At the controls of his Yamaha WR450 Rally, this first stage was marked for the Portuguese rider by a mishap that caused him to lose around 15 minutes.
“It was a stage where everything happened. It started well. I was third to start. I got on well with the navigation until km 300. There were a few mistakes that caused me to lose time, but that was natural. For a long time I only had a mark on the ground, but I was quite happy with the pace. After refueling, at km 300 I got stuck in a ravine, with the bike wedged between two rocks in a rocky area. I ended up losing a lot of time. I was there for almost 15 minutes. Then there was a rider, Nosiglia, who helped me get the bike out because I couldn't do it on my own. After that, I tried to get into a good rhythm, but I was already in the middle of other riders and there was dust. It was a shame about this mishap, which lost me a lot of time, but I'm happy to have made it to the end. Everything's fine with the bike too, although there are a few niggles due to the situation where I got stuck in the rocks, but apart from that everything's fine and we're now going to prepare for the 48-hour stage,” António Maio said on his return to the bivouac.
The next two days will see the 48-hour chrono stage introduced for the first time in the 2024 edition. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the participants will have to stop at the next of the six rest areas along the route of the special. The drivers will be cut off from the world by camping under the starry sky after sharing dinner with their opponents. The next morning, the participants' orders will be given at dawn at each rest area, but the second part of the 48-hour stage will take place on more varied terrain in the north of Bisha. Although the dunes won't be as daunting, the difficulty will remain virtually unchanged. Most of the participants will face around a hundred kilometers of dunes each day.
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Antonio Maio / A2 Comunicação
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