Dakar 2020: “After the horror in Stage 1 I understood I have to slow down”

Arkadiusz Lindner was close to ending his Dakar Rally debut already on the first stage. After 1,5h of sleep, being exhausted, he stood to fight with another day and another stage. He made to finish it with 14th place without major problems.

Already on the first day of his debutant participation in Dakar Rally, Polish quad rider met its real, dark face. Although many adversities, Arek didn’t give up and at 3am local time he reached the bivouac in Al-Wajh.

“From km 24 I was riding with only front brakes, and in quicksand, when you have to brake, it’s very dangerous. I was really close to finishing the stage before 20:45. I pushed, I did my best, but I got lost in a canyon. Several times I got into such places where there was a cliff on one side and another cliff on the other side, or into the dark lane surrounded by rocks. It was dark everywhere, I didn’t have backlit roadbook. Luckily, tracks very visible enough and that helped me reach the finish. In addition, all the time I had to analyze how much fuel I had left. In the end, I had to save it and for the last 60 km I rode at speed about 30-40 km/h”, Arkadiusz Lindner said at the finish line of the first stage.

The competitor of Łódź Offroad Club before the second day of the rally slept only 1,5h and although he was very exhausted, it was one of the most beautiful mornings of his life. He was still in the game! He changed his strategy of riding completely, what brought expected effect in the shape of good 14th place at the finish line of the special stage. Although he rode slower and very carefully, he was second to none in the group of riders on 4x4 quads.

“I felt completely different riding today than yesterday. Having learnt my lesson yesterday, this time I decided to ride the sections particularly tough for my machine, in which I used to ride too fast, in completely different way. My quad is heavy and, unfortunately, rims can’t stand such load. Besides, I think I already rode enough. After the horror on the first stage I understood that I have to slow down”, Lindner summarized the second day of the rally.

For the third stage of Dakar 2020 organizers planned a loop with start and finish in Neom. Total of the stage counts 504 km, 427 km of which against the clock. In some parts it leads in the mountains, and the height that competitors will reach is 1400 m ASL.

Source: Press release of Lindner91 Team
Translation: Anna Michalska, Rita Kónya