Both crews of the Instaforex Loprais Praga Team chose a similar strategy for the prologue of the Dakar Rally 2021. Without undue risk, they secured a good starting position for the first stage.
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The 43rd Dakar Rally has finally begun. The participants started the fight with the timekeeper before the official start of the competition. An eleven-kilometer prologue was held in the mountains northeast of Jeddah on Saturday, January 2, the results of which decided the starting order for the first stage. On a fast and relatively rocky track with a number of other pitfalls, it was a lot, but at the same time you could lose a lot.
“We drove briskly and wisely, even though it was already clear from the prologue that the set pace was high. But I still say that in the beginning it is always necessary to follow the Russians and their strategy, “ says the satisfied Aleš Loprais , who together with the navigator Khalid Alkendi and the flight mechanic Petr Pokora took the sixth place.
“I wanted to attack the top five and definitely be in the top ten. We succeeded and now we are focusing on tomorrow’s stage, which according to the information from the organizers should be similar to today’s prologue, but will be significantly longer. In such terrain, it is mainly a matter of avoiding mistakes. We want to attack ourselves only in the long sandy stages. “
” In the pre-race test, we got a little involved in stabilizing the car, because we didn’t have time to test some of the things in Europe. Of course, I’m still getting used to it, but I really liked it. The car is now a bit more oversteering and thanks to that more fun for me as a rider, “ Loprais wonders about the latest modification of his Prague V4S DKR.
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Jan Tománek, Tomáš Kašpárek and Jiří Stross led the Tatra Jamal – Queen 69 to the finish of the prologue in fifteenth place.
“Today it was more tactical on our part,” explains Jan Tománek . “We had two defects in the pre-race test and we absolutely didn’t know where it happened to us. In addition, the prologue was very rocky, it was run in relatively deep tracks and we set off on the track at dusk. That’s why I wanted to eliminate the risk of a defect that would cause us to lose more than we could get today. “
” I’m satisfied. Our task is to cover Aleš’s back and be close enough to him. If we start ten positions behind him, we can fulfill this role very well. We get used to it, we set off and look forward to the next days, “ concludes Tománek.
On Sunday, January 3, the participants of the Dakar Rally 2021, after spending almost a week in Jeddah, will finally go to other areas of Saudi Arabia. Specifically to the southeast to Bish. The introductory stage measures 345 kilometers, of which 277 will be driven in the special stage. According to the organizers, it should be mostly rocky and sandy pistes, and navigators should also be given the opportunity to prove their skills.
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| Instaforex Loprais Prague Team – Dakar 2021 |
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