17.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
After gold the fourth place and suffering in the eleventh stage

Yesterday three minutes after ten o’clock Aleš Loprais started the eleventh stage of the Dakar adventure. He ran to the special stage connecting the Chilean cities Antofagasta and El Salvador from the first position., because he won the previous stage. This time he was not so lucky by crossing the Atacama Desert. After 43 kilometres Karginov with Kamaz moved ahead. Aleš Loprais lost 24 seconds. After 200 kilometres were before the Queen 69 even de Rooy with Iveco and Nikolajev, another Kamaz driver. At that moment Aleš Loprais lost 7 minutes and 49 seconds. But he didn’t give up so far. On 329^th kilometre after the start was Aleš Loprais on the third place, on the fourth was at that moment de Rooy, for whom it meant the loss of lead in the overall ranking. The new leader has become Karginov that inexorably headed towards the finish.

And Karginov with Kamaz actually won the eleventh stage of this Dakar adventure. He was in the finish in 6 hours and 22 minutes. Aleš Loprais struggled with the rigors of challenging track about 22 and a half minutes longer, he finished on the fourth place. He is on the same place in the overall ranking. The leader of the truck category has however changed – de Rooy was replaced by Karginov who is eight minutes before him. Aleš Loprais loses to the Russian leader nearly two hours and 18 minutes and 42 minutes to the third Nikolajev. And what about his closest pursuers Sotnikov and Šibalov? They are an hour behind.

“Today the hard stage. Suffering in the form of chattering teeth and wounds to the spine. The cabin has broken, tonight we have to weld it and tomorrow step on it,” told Aleš Loprais and it is clear to us that the guys of our team has experienced again a lot in the eleventh stage. And not only the 504 crew on the track, but also the mechanics and support after their return to the bivouac. The second team crew 519 drove yesterday on the 19th place and in the overall ranking they are on the beautiful 14^th place just behind the Czech crew 519 Liaz.

12^th stage: El Salvador – La Serena
The connecting section: 349 km / The special stage: 350 km
Before the racers there is the penultimate chance to do something with the result. But in fact the last, because in the Saturday’s final stage there will be difficult to catch up the time. The track will go again along the Pacific coast to the south and Atacama Desert with its many faces waits again to the racers. Organizers bring them again into the hills, the technique will again climb into the two kilometres high. After the middle of the 350 km long measured section the rocky terrain will be replaced by sand and it will accompany the racers to the finish. Everyone will have to compete again with long ranges of dunes near the Copiapó town. And the rest will come not straight after the finish – racers will have to travel an additional 350 km of connecting section to the bivouac in La Serena.

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová