Dakar 2023: Stage 6 - Lucas Moraes moves up to 3rd place in the general classification

Brazilian rookie turns center of attention in the world's most important race

Lucas Moraes is having an impeccable journey in his debut in the Dakar Rally, the most difficult race in the world, which is being held in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, with a 15-day duration. On Friday, Moraes and German navigator Timo Gottschalk drove their Toyota GR DKR Hilux to seventh place after 333km of the sixth consecutive Dakar special, a result that elevated them to third place in the general classification of the car category, the main one of the competition.

Still a newcomer in the race, the young Brazilian became one of the centers of attention of the huge multinational caravan of the Dakar, deserving many compliments for the maturity and control of the situation he has been showing in his first participation. The sixth stage, in fact, was assessed as "treacherous and dangerous" by several competitors, both for the technical level and for the various situations of physical risk faced by the more than 400 participating vehicles.

"This was a very difficult day, with many dunes, many dunes indeed," commented Lucas. "Some of them were very dangerous, with very steep descents and jumps. The car suffered a little, but it was brave. And we managed to get to the end with it in one piece", continued the Red Bull athlete, who is supported by SpeedMax Pneus.

The Brazilian's race, however, was not free of mishaps: "Given the conditions, we can say that we had a clean race. But we had a flat tire at km 35, then we realized that another one had a leak - and we stopped again to change it. Then we went to the end with a conservative pace, always thinking about avoiding breaks, because today was a very hard day for the equipment. But we knew we had a chance for a good result", he commented.

Caution - About the moment he is living, Lucas, who is the current two-time champion of the Sertões but who also wanted to be tested in the Dakar, was cautious. "It's incredible to be in third place in the general classification. The Dakar brings together the best pairs in the world. So, I don't even know what to say, to tell you the truth," commented the Brazilian. "To debut doing well was always what I dreamed of. It is happening, but the rally is still far from the end. And the Dakar is unpredictable. The only way to move forward is to keep focused, work hard and respect the challenge. Otherwise, it will swallow you up.

The best final result by a Brazilian in the Dakar Rally was eighth place by Klever Kolberg in 2002, aboard a Mitsubishi Pajero and navigated by Frenchman Pascal Larroque.

The victory in today's special was won by Qatar's Al-Attiyah and French navigator Mathieu Baumel, who completed the 333km in 3h13min12s with the official factory Toyota GR DKR Hilux. Second place went to Frenchman Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin, with a Prodrive Hunter T1+. This Saturday, the Dakar will hold its seventh special stage, over a distance of 472km, again between Riyadh and Al-Duwadimi.

Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Lucas Moraes / Best PR