In preparation for the Dakar Rally, Lucas Moraes sets a good pace in the stage valid for the Baja World Cup
Even facing the Dubai International Baja, the last stage of the Baja World Cup, as a preparation for his debut in the Dakar Rally, the Brazilian Lucas Moraes surprised the competition and dominated the first of the two days of the competition. Aboard a Toyota Hilux DKR IMT of the Belgian Overdrive team, Moraes finished this Friday's 194.40 km stage in the Arab Emirates in 3h29min59s, the fastest of the day on the sands between the Lisaili region and the Al Qudra desert.
With the objective of improving his driving technique in the region's dunes, very close to where the Dakar Rally will be held, Moraes also has as a novelty the integration work with German navigator Timo Gottschalk. The duo finished the special stage with an advantage of more than six minutes over Dutchman Erik van Loon and Frenchman Sébastien Delaunay, also from Overdrive. Completing the trio of the Belgian team, which is the reigning Dakar champion, the team's third car arrived soon after, driven by the leaders of the Baja World Cup, Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi to German navagator Dirk von Zitzewitz.
"Very different" - After finishing in front, Lucas Moraes pointed out that desert rallying is practically another modality compared to what he is used to. "It was really a very special day for us, because it is my first desert and dune rally. After this experience, I can say that it is practically another sport. The driving and navigation are very different," said the Brazilian, who has recently joined the Red Bull team of athletes. "I still have a lot to evolve. And the race was in a very difficult place, so much so that I even saw other navigators commenting to Timo that it was one of the most difficult specials they have ever done here in Dubai. And this helps us for the Dakar, because we really have difficult and dangerous dunes here. But it was good, we were able to drive strong."
Before the Dubai International Baja, Lucas trained for two days with his navigator, which helped the team get used to each other and will participate in the Dakar 2023 in a month's time: "They were two very productive days, and the main thing was to understand a little about getting used to each other with the navigator, the dunes, and how to get the car right. The Brazilian, however, continues "with his feet on the ground" for this Saturday. "One thing I realized is how quickly you can put everything at risk in this type of race. Any error in driving or navigation in these high dunes can be very costly. It takes maximum focus all the time," he stressed. "My goal here is more to gain experience. But, of course, we are leading and I would love to bring this victory to Brazil. I can hardly believe we did so well on the very first day. But here in the desert, and with these super fast and experienced guys, you need a lot of respect."
The Dubai International Baja ends this Saturday, when the pilots will cover a distance of 195.98 km, between Al-Marmoun returning to Lisaili, always in the Arab Emirates.
Check out the results of the first day (top-3):
1. Lucas Moraes/Timo Gottschalk - 3h29min59s
2. Erik van Loon/Sébastien Delaunay, 6min53s
3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Dirk von Zitzewitz, 10min5s
Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version - You can find it here.
Source: Driver's Official press release
