Yesterday’s strong performances go unrewarded
A tough second marathon day
The second day of the second marathon stage proved to be a major challenge for the X-raid crews. Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel, who had secured an impressive fifth place yesterday in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, were hit particularly hard today. At times, they were forced to open the stage in the dunes – meaning they had to navigate and lay down tracks for the competitors behind them. They ended the day in 35th place. Lionel and Lucie Baud were unable to repeat yesterday’s top performance. They became stuck in the soft sand with their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d and lost significant time. The father-daughter duo finished the stage in 91st position.
Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero reached the finish in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d in 99th place. Their X-raid Fenic teammates, Rebecca Busi and Sergio Lafuente, finished 105th, which placed them 25th in the Challenger ranking.
A very strong stage result is not always an advantage at the Dakar – something De Mévius and Baumel were forced to experience once again today. They started the stage from fifth position and got stuck in the sand shortly afterwards. A little later, they unexpectedly found themselves at the front of the field and had to open the route. They then got stuck once again and lost further time.
Lionel and Lucie Baud were overjoyed after their sensational ninth place the previous day. But today, their performance went unrewarded. Transmission issues made the passage through the dunes extremely challenging. Nevertheless, they pushed through and reached the finish in 91st position.
Tomorrow presents another long day for the competitors: over 500 kilometres of liaison and an additional 346 kilometres against the clock. The terrain itself is likely to be less problematic, but the numerous intersections, forks and junctions will demand maximum concentration and excellent navigation skills.
Statements
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “Not a particularly good day for us. We got stuck in the sand and suddenly found ourselves at the front. Shortly afterwards, we got stuck again. After that, we drove calmly to reach the finish – we have nothing to win and nothing to lose, so we just wanted to complete the stage.”
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): „“Yesterday’s top-10 result was an incredibly emotional moment that we will never forget. Lucie delivered an outstanding navigation performance. Where the top crews struggled, we found the waypoints. She really made a name for herself in the bivouac, and even other drivers congratulated her. Today, we planned to approach the difficult dunes carefully. But unfortunately, we had gearbox problems – which cost us a lot of time. Still, we made it to the finish. These last two days have been mentally and physically extremely tough. We are completely exhausted, but still in the race.”
Source: X-Raid
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
