After suffering two punctures, the Catalan driver stopped to assist Abdullah Alshegawi and Hamzah Bakhashab at the same point on the route. The former had lost a wheel, while the latter had become stuck on a large bush.
This incident, in which he lost nearly 50 minutes, combined with his delayed starting position and the fact that he started the special stage so late, forced him to complete the last 150 kilometers at night.
“It was a real ordeal. We were able to finish, which is the positive part, but obviously we lost a lot of time helping the team. Anyway, we are satisfied that we were able to give them a hand so they could continue in the race.”
The resumption of the Dakar Rally for Joan Font and Adrià Guillem, after the rest day, began with a very eventful seventh stage, in which they first suffered two consecutive punctures and then had to stop to rescue the two drivers from the Saudi Next Gen program, whom they are assisting. Despite the adversities, they managed to complete the special stage without any problems, although they did so in 34th and penultimate position in the Challenger category, more than two hours behind the stage winner.
It was not the dream comeback for Joan Font, who, after a very clean first week in terms of incidents—apart from a few punctures—started the second week with a considerable workload. The main setback occurred around kilometer 250, when his two teammates, Abdullah Alshegawi and Hamzah Bakhashab, suffered mishaps, one after the other. The first lost a wheel and the second got stuck on a bush.
"Obviously, when we saw them, we stopped and got to work to help them continue. Adrià had to change the steering knuckle on Abdullah's side-by-side, and we also had to pull Hamzah's vehicle out because it was completely stuck," explained Joan Font. In total, the Vic native was stopped for about 50 minutes before he could resume driving.
However, the difficulties did not end there, as that valuable lost time, coupled with the fact that they started very late again today, forced them to complete the last 150 kilometers with hardly any daylight. "It was a real ordeal. We were able to finish, which is the positive part, but obviously we lost a lot of time helping the team. In any case, we are satisfied that we were able to give them a hand so that they could continue in the race."
The positive note is that Joan Font is still in the competition and his goal of finishing the race remains intact. In addition, he has been able to perfectly fulfill his role as “team pilot,” which is, ultimately, the reason why he is participating in this 2026 Dakar Rally. Tomorrow, the Catalan duo will tackle the eighth stage of the race, with 481 timed kilometers, with the intention of regaining the good pace shown in previous days.
Source: Joan Font Press
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