Today the Dakar Rally resumed, after yesterday’s rest day, with a stage from Riyadh to Wadi Ad Dawasir. Before the start of stage seven, the question was whether the rhythm might have been broken. Nothing could be further from the truth: with both Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid trucks well inside the top ten, it was a dream start to week two. Kay Huzink continued his impressive debut with fourth place, and Gert Huzink followed in sixth after some time penalties. To make it even better, Kay Huzink, navigator Rob Buursen and mechanic Gait Schoneveld were the best-performing Dutch crew of the day. The winner was Vaidotas Zala of Team De Rooy.
Kay Huzink: “Rob and Gait did a fantastic job”
Having been promoted to lead driver, Kay Huzink lost a few positions in the first part of the 459-kilometre special stage, but was able to make up ground again in the second half. Once more, the cooperation between Kay, Rob and Gait proved excellent. Kay reports: “Stage seven was a great test with a bit of everything. Dunes, fast sections, rocky tracks and lots of sand. We started as the fifth truck and quickly caught Richard de Groot, who had started ahead of us. In the dunes we lost some time because we still need to build a bit more speed there. Rob and Gait were fantastic again. Today we finished fourth and were classified as the best Dutch crew.” The MKR Renault rally truck with start number 616 didn’t miss a beat during the varied stage. Back in the bivouac, the mechanics will, as usual, go through everything and prepare the truck for tomorrow.
Gert Huzink: “Dusty track and a beautiful dune section”
After the technical trouble and retirement in stage five, Gert Huzink was back in action today. Starting from the back, Gert, Hugo and Mario in truck number 609 charged their way forward — an extremely impressive performance. A comeback like that comes with dust from competitors ahead, and every overtaking manoeuvre inevitably costs a few seconds. Gert reflects on a successful stage seven: “Today started on a dusty track and then a beautiful dune section that wasn’t difficult and was great to surf through. That was also the only part where we had clear visibility. The rest of the stage we drove in Soltys’s dust. That was less enjoyable. We picked up a few overspeedings because the top speed wasn’t constant. We’ll take that small penalty in our stride.” Tomorrow Gert can start shortly behind Kay and act as very quick back-up in case the latter runs into trouble. A perfect position for Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid as the toughest rally in the world continues.
Stage 8: Wadi Ad Dawasir – Wadi Ad Dawasir
Tomorrow there is no bivouac transfer, as both the start and finish are in Wadi Ad Dawasir. After a 120-kilometre liaison, a demanding 483-kilometre special stage begins. It will be another varied day. Most of it consists of fast tracks, but the competitors will also have to deal with stretches of sandy tracks and dunes. Finally, there is a 118-kilometre asphalt liaison back to the bivouac. In total, stage eight covers 721 kilometres.
Source: Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid Team
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