ALULA – In the second stage of the Dakar Rally, Mitchel van den Brink took control. A fourth-place finish was enough to move into the lead of the overall standings.
Today’s victory went to Gert Huzink. Vaidotas Žala and Martin Macík followed close behind the winner in the Renault. Mitchel’s crew drove to fourth place without any major issues, finishing just 3 minutes and 11 seconds down.
The timed special towards AlUla covered 400 kilometres. “The stage went perfectly,” Mitchel said right after the finish. “We drove hard and managed to keep a high pace without taking risks. We didn’t make any mistakes and we didn’t have any punctures. Bart and Jarno did a top job again today. The three of us are really clicking,” said the satisfied rally driver from Harskamp.
According to Mitchel, there may have been a bit more on the table today. “A failed pit stop threw a spanner in the works. We lost six minutes there. We’re first overall, but we could have had a slightly bigger lead. All in all, we’re very happy and we’ll head into the coming days full of confidence to see what we can achieve.”
Lead of just over three minutes
After the second stage, Mitchel’s outfit holds a lead of 3 minutes and 6 seconds over Žala. The Iveco driver from Team De Rooy, in turn, has a 24-second advantage over Martin Macík. The Czech, driving exactly the same truck as Mitchel, is followed by Aleš Loprais. The winner of the first stage is now 7 minutes and 52 seconds behind Mitchel and his co-drivers.
The crew of father Martin van den Brink had less success today. They arrived in AlUla with a large deficit. More information will follow later about the setback that struck the experienced team after more than 200 kilometres.
Tuesday’s third stage features 314 kilometres of liaison, plus a 422-kilometre special. The route includes many tricky tracks through rocky terrain and, above all, lots of sections where navigation will be difficult. The hunt for the mandatory waypoints will play a key role.
Text: Berry Kamphorst
Photo: MMphoto
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