Joan Font and Adrià Guillem have now done almost half the job. After six exhausting stages and more than 3,500 kilometres covered, the Catalan duo from BE Racing are already in Riyadh, where they will be able to enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow. Font and Guillem have reached close to the halfway point of the rally with another display of reliability and consistency in a long and tough sixth stage, run entirely on sand and dunes, which car number 333 tackled efficiently.
Friday’s stage, starting in Ha’il and finishing in the Saudi capital, was a true endurance test for Joan Font. He not only had to deal with the harsh terrain, but also with factors beyond his control, such as his late starting position. With such a long day — including a liaison of more than 300 kilometres — he began the special stage after midday, which heavily affected his performance, especially over the final 40 kilometres, which he had to complete at night. Navigation also played a key role, and Adrià Guillem once again demonstrated his composure and ability in that department, in his first rally as a co-driver.
Despite all these challenges, Joan Font finished the special in 24th position in the Challenger category, marking his second-best result of the event after the 20th place achieved in stage two. The outcome also allows him to consolidate 25th place overall. “The day was demanding from the start, because we set off quite late around midday and had to complete the last 40 kilometres without daylight. Even so, everything went well and without any notable incidents. It was a very tough stage, with a lot of sand, and we maintained a high pace within the possibilities of our vehicle. Without a doubt, a truly Dakar-style stage — the real thing,” explained the Catalan driver on his way to Riyadh, where the bivouac will be based for the next two days.
Joan Font reaches the rest day in high spirits. This first week of Dakar has been noticeably different — and less incident-filled — than the two previous editions. “We’re very satisfied with the work we’ve done. Adrià is doing an excellent job with the navigation, the car’s performance is good, and coordination with the team has been very positive,” he assessed. As for results, he also takes encouragement: “We’re competing with the resources we have. In this category there are clearly more powerful vehicles, which makes it hard to fight on equal terms, so we consider the results we’re achieving to be good when analysed in that context,” he concluded.
Saturday will be time to rest, but also to prepare the Can-Am Maverick X3 for the second week of racing. There are still seven stages to go and, without losing sight of their main objective — providing assistance and support to their team — Joan Font and Adrià Guillem will aim to maintain the consistency shown so far and reach the final finish alongside the rest of the BE Racing Team.
Source: Joan Font official press release
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