The mini-race that determined the starting order took place over 29km on very fast terrain
On Friday (3), Brazilian Lucas Moraes recorded the eighth best time in the Ultimate category, considered the Formula 1 of rallying, during the prologue - a short race that defined the starting order for the first day of the competition, which will begin this Saturday with a 412km timed race. The 47th edition of the Dakar runs until January 17th. This is the sixth time in a row that the deserts of Saudi Arabia have hosted the event. Lucas, who is taking part in the race for the third time but is already listed among the favorites, was very relaxed about the result and praised the performance of his navigator, Spaniard Armand Monleón.
“It's always good to finish a complicated session like this without any problems. Overall, I think we did a good job. The section is very fast and Armand was fundamental in showing the way. It was difficult to see. It's always good to remember that we're in the desert and there's no road or path. And as there was a lot of bush, visibility was difficult, as the trees often obscured what was ahead. That's why Armand's good navigation work was very important,” commented the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver.
“You have to respect the Dakar” - ”We hit some small trees, bushes, on the front of the car. So now we're going to check the car, but everything is fine. The important thing is that we've done our homework over the last few months, we're prepared. Now the important thing is for me, Armand and the team to work hard to deliver our best and finish the race well. Tomorrow is the first day of the race and, despite our confidence and optimism, it won't be until tomorrow that we really get a sense of where we are in terms of performance. For now, we're satisfied. But in the Dakar, you never know. Until the end of the race we'll still have more than 5,000 km of difficulties. And here are the best teams in the world. We have to be humble and respect the Dakar. That's the focus,” he added.
The best time in the Ultimate was recorded by South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings, with a time of 15min28s for the 29km prologue. Reigning Dakar champions, Spaniards Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz were only 25th on the day, 1min14s behind the frontrunners.
Two more cars are driven by Brazilians in the Ultimate category. Marcelo Gastaldi, whose navigator is Frenchman Adrien Metge in a Century CR7, came 20th (1min08s off the best time of the day). The Brazilian duo Marcos Moraes/Maykel Justo (Toyota Overdrive) recorded the 36th fastest time of the day (2min03s from the leaders). They are making their Ultimate debut. Brazil also has navigator Cadu Sachs, partner of Portuguese driver Gonçalo Guerreiro in a Taurus T3 Max in the Challenger category, for lightweight prototypes. The duo surprised, setting the second best mark in the prologue in their category.
Because it's a disadvantage to start at the front of a rally, as those ahead end up leading the way for those behind, the Dakar has a rule that the top 25 can change their starting position, with priority going to those who did best in the prologue. So Lategan and Cummins, the fastest duo of the day, opted to start 11th tomorrow. Moraes and Monleón chose to be the 15th car to start the race. The first pair to start will be Belgian Guillaume de Mévius and Frenchman Mathieu Beaumel, who had problems in the prologue, recording only the 111th time of the day.
Source: BestPR / Lucas Moraes
Photo: Alen Milavec
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