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18.1.2014
NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
Failure took the chance to podium away
In the penultimate stage of this year’s Dakar from El Salvador to La Serena it went about a lot – it was actually the last opportunity to get some time and improve the position in the overall ranking. But there was a bogey of possible loss in the dunes of the Atacama Desert…
Aleš Loprais wanted to fight, he rode well. In the first waypoint he was on the second place, in the second even on the first, in the third waypoint he dropped to the third place. In the fourth waypoint was the Queen 69 on the fourth place with the loss of a minute and 39 seconds. But waiting in the fifth waypoint to arrival of truck number 504 was unfortunately almost endless. It took more than two hours… Approximately in the half of the measured section has Aleš Loprais to stop due to a technical problem. The crew immediately went to work, even the crew of Jan Tománek helped. The cracked hose from the compressor but meant a lot of work for all. Correction on the track was successful, but unfortunately meant decline in the results.
Queen 69 finished the penultimate stage on the 32th place with the loss of nearly three hours on the winning de Rooy. In the overall ranking dropped Aleš Loprais from the fourth to the sixth place, he loses more than five hours to the leading Karginov and three and half hours to the third Nikolajev. Jan Tománek’s crew finished yesterday after the help with the loss of four and a quarter hours, they are on the 18th place in the overall ranking. Twelfth stage was unlucky even for motorcyclist David Pabiška, he finished on the 13th place, in the overall ranking he dropped from 16th to 18th place overall.
13th stage: La Serena – Valparaiso
The connecting section: 378 km / The special stage: 157 km
The last stage is here. It will be not any 600 km long journey, 157 measured km are waiting for the racers. They will go again to the south along the Pacific coast, this time there will be no sand on the track, only stones. Competitors will pass through the Las Chinchillas National park, but there will be no time to admire it. “The pride and joy of crossing the finish line is drawing closer, but caution is according to statistics necessary to the last moments,” warn the organizers. Hopefully everyone can do it and they all will be able to stand triumphantly on the podium in Valparaiso. They deserve admiration.
This year’s Dakar is very fickle. This message is written and send not easily. The more we appreciate that even in such moments we have a strong support of fans and partners, who all a little bit sad know that: “We go on!” |
