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Rally dos Sertões 2023: Accident does not take Moraes out from Sertões, who returns and wins
Break of the steering bar left car uncontrolled, leading to a tree hit and suffer various damage
His name is Lucas Moraes, but you can call him Highlander. Current champion of the Sertões Rally and sensation of the last edition of the Dakar Rally, the young driver and navigator Kaique Bentivoglio suffered a dangerous accident during the fourth stage of the Brazilian race, in the middle of the stage in a semi-desertic area, tens of kilometers from any possibility of aid. The break of the steering wheel of your Toyota Hilux GR T1+ left the car out of control, leading to the crash into a tree.
As there was no possibility of assistance at the time, the duo, which led the race and is the current champion, ended up abandoning the stage – and with this practically no longer has a chance to fight for the third title. However, in the fifth stage, played on Wednesday, 16, the duo responded well: won the race, with the considerable advantage of 3min37s over the second-placed, Marcos Baumgart/Klever Cincea.
“Today was a victory with a taste of redemption. I do not know if the biggest impact in this accident was the knock on the tree or the discouragement that struck us because it practically took us the chance of the tri-championship. But we raised our heads, we fought for a few hours repairing the car on our own and we managed to return to the camp very late,” Moraes detailed. “Unfortunately, these are things that happen in rallies. Maybe something hit the bottom of the car and broke the bar. The important thing now is that we went back to the race, and we were very competitive. This will give us another clutter until the end of this Sertões”, he added.
The next stage of the Sertões, this Thursday, 17, starts in Crato, with arrival in Sobral, both in Ceará, offering a total of 312km against the clock.
Below is the result of the fifth stage and the information of the 31st edition of the Sertões Rally since its start last Saturday
Stage 5 results,
1º) Lucas Moraes/Kaique Bentivoglio (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+), 2h50min17s85
2º) Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (Prodrive Hunter T1+), a 3min37s84
3º) Marcelo Gastaldi/Cadu Sachs (Century CR6-T T1F), a 4min53s65
4º) Sylvio de Barros/Ramon Sacilotti (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+), a 5min11s76
5º) Guiga Spinelli/Paulo Fiuza (Mitsubishi Triton Sport Racing T1F), a 8min19s70
Overall classification after stage 5
1º) Marcelo Gastaldi / Cadu Sachs, Century CR6-T, (1)T1F, 19h19min52
2º) Sylvio de Barros / Ramon Sacilotti, Toyota GR Hilux DKR, (1)T1+, a 4min36
3º) Marcos Baumgart / Kleber Cincea, Prodrive Hunter, (2)T1+, a 20min32
4º) Dan Nacif / Fred Budtikewitz, Ford Ranger V8, (2)T1F, a 21min59
5º) Mauro Guedes / Edu Bampi, Toyota GR Hilux DKR, (3)T1+, a 31min36
12º) Lucas Moraes/Kaique Bentivoglio (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+)
Automatic translation from the original Brazilian-Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: BestPR/ Toyota Gazoo Racing
Photo: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Pool Content
Helder