The Spanish driver has a very bad night and starts the first stage of the Dakar unwell and with fever, which he manages to finish against all odds.
The Repsol Toyota Rally Team rider is forced to adopt a pace that will allow him to make it to the finish and hopes to recover in time for the 48-hour time trial.
“The 400-odd kilometers were endless; I was counting down the kilometers to the finish. It was a very difficult day for me”.
The Dakar has dealt a severe blow to the Repsol Toyota Rally Team on the first long stage of the rally. It wasn't a mechanical problem or a navigation failure, but the indisposition of driver Isidre Esteve. The Oliana driver had a bad night, started the day with a fever and had to pull himself out of the doldrums to complete the day's special, a loop around Bisha, with 413 timed kilometers. At the end of the day, the Dakar doctors diagnosed him with the flu.
On a day like this, the result is the least important thing, but the classification of the stage places the Toyota Hilux T1+ number 229 in 69th place overall (44th in Ultimate), after 5 hours and 28 and a half minutes of suffering in the sand. Given the difficulties, it is remarkable that Esteve has only conceded 53 minutes to the leader. In the overall standings, the driver from Lleida and his co-driver Txema Villalobos occupy the same position, both in the absolute and Ultimate classifications.
“The 400-odd kilometers have been endless; I was counting the remaining ones to finish. It was a very difficult day for me, very hard. I threw up twice and I had to find a rhythm that allowed me to ride and make it to the end”, explains the driver supported by Repsol, MGS Seguros and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain.
The day's special stage ended at the Bisha bivouac itself, without any subsequent liaison section, so Isidre Esteve was able to focus on his recovery right after finishing the timed stage. “I had a terrible time, I'm knackered. In the end, it turned out that I have a little flu. Let's see if I can rest, recover and be ready for tomorrow. We haven't had a good start to this Dakar, but it's still a long one”, says the driver, who is competing in his 20th Dakar, his 10th in a car.
This first stage was mainly on fast sandy tracks, where it was important to be attentive to navigation, with a rockier section in the middle. The next challenge will be one of the Dakar's most important stages, the 48-hour time trial, which will take place this Sunday and Monday, January 5 and 6. There are 947 timed kilometers in a loop around Bisha.
In the first part, on the 5th, at around 16:30 local time (two hours less in mainland Spain), the riders will have to stop for the night at the nearest bivouac, and continue the rest of the special stage on Monday, the 6th. Last year, the 48-hour time trial was an epic adventure for the Repsol Toyota Rally Team, which had to spend a second night in the desert. This year, Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos will have to give their all again to keep their competitive goal alive on the Dakar 2025.
Stage and overall standings:
1. Seth Quintero (Toyota) 4h 35'08”.
2. Guerlain Chicherit (Mini) +00'45”.
3. Saood Variawa (Toyota) +01'48”.
4. Martin Prokop (Ford) +01'49”.
5. Cristina Gutiérrez (Dacia) +02'13”.
...
69 / 44 (Ultimate)... Isidre Esteve (Toyota) +53'19”.
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally Team / Mediagé Comunicación
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