Dakar 2023: Martin Van Den Brink reports to the front

Dakar 2023: Martin Van Den Brink reports to the front

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SATISFIED FACES AFTER THIRD PLACE IN TRICKY SECOND STAGE

Martin van den Brink has reported to the front in the second stage. The Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco driver ensured the third podium finish in a row for the team with third place.

Mitchel van den Brink, who finished on the podium two days in a row, suffered a setback today. The young driver from Harskamp lost a lot of time due to a series of flat tires, among other things.
Mitchel's sporting woes were initially alleviated within the De Rooy team by the stage win of Janus van Kasteren. In the colors of Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco, the Brabander was by far the fastest in the 430-kilometer stage. Afterwards, Van Kasteren unfortunately had to hand in the day's victory. According to the organization, the team missed a waypoint. The fixed penalty time is fifteen minutes. So Ales Loprais took the stage win with a difference of 1m50s.

On the varied stage from Sea Camp to Alula, Martin had to concede 6m11s to the Czech. After the technical problems at the beginning of the rally, Van den Brink senior can look back on Monday's stage with satisfaction. The differences in the daily classification are large and for many crews it was hatchet day.

The main victim is Vick Versteijnen. The teammate of Martin and Mitchel had to leave the Boss Machinery Iveco in the bivouac. The damage to the engine could not be repaired after the first stage to continue the Dakar Rally today. In addition to Mitchel, classification leader Martin Macik also bit the dust today. The Czech lost almost 1 hour and 20 minutes on Ales Loprais.

Good business in the general classification

In the general classification Martin, navigator Erik Kofman and Richard Mouw did good business. The experienced driver is now fourth in the general classification. The gap to leader Loprais is 35m20s. Van Kasteren is second and Czech Jaroslav Valtr is third at 16.04s.
"It was a tough but exciting day. On the many trails with boulders, the chances of a flat tire are high. We stopped 5 minutes today with Mitchel to give him a tire. Other than that we stayed out of trouble,'' said Martin, who did get a big thumb from the race over the boulders. "I got my thumb between the handlebars. That can happen on a test with so many bumps and holes.''
Martin's team was one of the few formations out of the test before dark. "Many teams missed a waypoint today. For us, it's unfortunate that Mitchel lost a lot of time. He got an extra tire from Gerrit Zuurmond and has to limit the loss. But like all the other teams, they also have to finish the test in the dark.''

 

Automatic translation from the original Dutch version
Source: Eurol Rally Sport
Text: Berry Kamphorst
Pho: Ronald Loedeman

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