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

• NIKOLAEV (RUS)
• YAKOVLEV (RUS)
• RYBAKOV (RUS)

KAMAZ

• LOPRAIS (CZE)
• BRUYNKENS (BEL)
• PUSTEJOVSKY (CZE)

TATRA

• SOTNIKOV (RUS)
• MIZYUKAEV (RUS)
• AFERIN (RUS)

KAMAZ

• STACEY (NLD)
• RUF (DEU)
• DER KINDEREN (NLD)

IVECO

• KUIPERS (NLD)
• TORRALLARDONA (ESP)
• VAN DER VAET (BEL)

MAN

• VASILEVSKI (BLR)
• KAZLOUSKI (BLR)
• ZAPAROSHCHANKA (BLR)

MAZ

• VAN GINKEL (NLD)
• KUPPER (NLD)
• VAN DONKELAAR (NLD)

GINAF

• NIKOLAEV (RUS)
• YAKOVLEV (RUS)
• RYBAKOV (RUS)

KAMAZ

• LOPRAIS (CZE)
• BRUYNKENS (BEL)
• PUSTEJOVSKY (CZE)

TATRA

• SOTNIKOV (RUS)
• MIZYUKAEV (RUS)
• AFERIN (RUS)

KAMAZ

• STACEY (NLD)
• RUF (DEU)
• DER KINDEREN (NLD)

IVECO

• KUIPERS (NLD)
• TORRALLARDONA (ESP)
• VAN DER VAET (BEL)

MAN

• VASILEVSKI (BLR)
• KAZLOUSKI (BLR)
• ZAPAROSHCHANKA (BLR)

MAZ

• VAN GINKEL (NLD)
• KUPPER (NLD)
• VAN DONKELAAR (NLD)

GINAF

16.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
Karel Loprais is happy about the golden tenth stage and adds that there is no recipe for fesh-fesh.

After yesterday’s tenth stage of the Dakar competition we again asked a few questions Karel Loprais, the truck legend, who won the toughest race in the world for six times.

Have you got a recipe for fesh-fesh?
There is no recipe.

Aleš probably found it, yesterday he won the stage.
That’s great! We were waiting for that for long time, finally it comes!

Aleš said that the team struggled with the truck settings. Is it really such  a big deal?
The guys scored with damping in Iquique.

Winning kicks them before the remaining stages up, isn’t it?
This is needed, it came at the right time.

We can expect the battle in the truck category. Three Kamaz trucks attack the leading de Rooy.
That’s good. Such a competition would be the spice of each race. It is good, that someone chases de Rooy.

And Aleš is behind the Kamaz on the fourth place. Are chances to podium still alive?
It will be very difficult till the end, but as long as it’s racing a chance is still here.

In Tuesday’s stage finished the third Nikolajev only one second earlier before the fourth Sotnikov. Was it the team strategy, or did they really fight?
I would say they fought. Competitors don’t see each other on the track and don’t know what are the differences between them. And when they race that way, difference can be even this small.

Kamaz is on the first places in the each stage. Aleš said that they are really good in difficult passages. What does make them so good?
At the start they have five cars, now they have to choose from too. One car quitted, but I am sure it is somewhere around and racers can take from it what they need.

In the tenth stage had problems even the Kamaz – Sotnikov had a great loss. Aleš could move to the fourth place because of it.
We do not know if it due to technical problems or he got stuck in dunes. They are really tricky for everyone.

Organizers prepared for the participants in the final stages the sand and fesh-fesh. How to ride in this tricky terrain?
On Dakar there has each stage its guile. There is not guaranteed recipe how to ride fesh-fesh. The surface is constantly changing, you don’t know, where are you going to. You have to pass it, otherwise it will not work. I hope that guys will not be fed with anyone on the track and I believe that they will race good again.

We remind our guessing competition with attractive prizes. Everything you need you can find here: http://www.loprais.cz/dakar/en/event

You can answer the question: “What will be the highest heart rate measured to co-pilot Serge Bruynkens within the last stage of the2014 Dakar Rally by the eVito active health system?” to Sunday January 19 to 12 pm. The results will be announced at a press conference after the return of the team which is planed on Tuesday January 21 in Prague. The winners will be awarded at the After Dakar Party and a meeting with fans, which will be held on Saturday February 1 in Troyer Hotel in Trojanovice. Program of the Saturday afternoon we will prepare in cooperation with our partners and we will of course keep you informed.

Don’t wait for anything, support our team and compete with us!

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová

16.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
The tenth stage brought gold!

At the beginning of the Dakar adventure dedicated Aleš Loprais the imaginary silver for the second place in the opening stage to his new-born son Alex. Then he added a bronze in the third stage from San Rafael to San Juan and the collection of successes is complete after yesterday, Aleš Loprais added the most valuable – the stage gold!

Aleš Loprais and the 504 crew were very successful in the 10^th stage. Since start in Iquique the truck drove as fast as hell. On the first waypoint on 33^rd km was Aleš losing five seconds to the leading Karginov, on the second was the Queen 69 a half a minute before Kamaz. But that wasn’t the end of pulling over. After 106 km on the 3^rd waypoint lead Karginov again, but only one second ahead Aleš Loprais! The lead was bigger on the 4^th waypoint, but on the sixth waypoint the order was how all Czech fans wanted to see – Loprais the first and Karginov a minute and 40 seconds after him. At the end of the first part of the special stage was Aleš Loprais the fastest again, a minute and 19 seconds ahead before his pursuers.

Organizers commented it on the official website briefly and clearly: “Yes, Loprais! The Czech pilot with Tatra was the fastest in the first part of the special stage!” Aleš Loprais didn’t leto go anyone in front of him in the second part of the special stage along the Pacific Ocean, which totally measured 631 km. Karginov from Kamaz reduced the loss gradually, but it was not enough. The comment of the organizers again: “Loprais breaks the ice – Aleš Loprais (Tatra) first wins on the 2014 Dakar!” Karginov lost 37 seconds after our crew. This is almost trivial difference on more than 600 km, but the victory is sweet. De Rooy was on the third place with the loss of six minutes and 10 seconds. Aleš Loprais won in the stage, which was not easy. Dunes, sand, fesh-fesh dust everywhere. Sotnikov from Kamaz would tell about it, which defended the fourth place in the overall ranking. But he got stuck yesterday, so now is Aleš Loprais on the fourth place in the overall ranking. He is losing about 33 minutes to the third Nikolajev. De Rooy is winning, Karginov is after yesterday 8 minutes after him.

“Winning the stage! Satisfaction after technical problems in previous days. We had only three clear stages without technical problems so far in this Dakar. The more I am pleased that we always conquered the podium,” happily evaluates Aleš Loprais the result and continues: “2014 Dakar is really hard… Until today we managed to find the optimum damper setting, which is essential to ride in Atacama Desert. On the one side the sixth victory of stage in the Dakar charged me extremely, but on the other hand however I am sorry that the setting we discovered now. However tomorrow may be all different. I really would like to get on the podium this year, but I realize how difficult it will be.”

Difficult terrain of yesterday’s stage gave a hard time to the other racers. In the car category quitted Spanish veteran Carlos Sainz, among motorcyclist Chilean racer Israel Esquerre. Conversely Czech biker David Pabiška, who finished on the 24^th place yesterday, is on the seventeenth place in the overall ranking. Our team experienced a lot yesterday, ALeš Loprais describes it: “I have great pleasure of driving of our second crew, which leads our Princess through the Dakar adventures. They helped other Tatra from a competitive team today, which made me very happy too.” Crew number 519 finished the stage on the 23^rd place with loss of 2:42:32 and is on the 16^th place of the overall ranking.

11th stage: Antofagasta – El Salvador
The connecting section: 144 km / The special stage: 605 km
Organizers say about this stage that will be the key stage of the 2014 edition of Dakar. In addition to the distance, here the competitors will be put to the test by all the difficulties offered by the Atacama Desert… and will have to display all the qualities required for off-road races. After the mine tracks and the many rivers to cross, the competitors will have to distinguish themselves in the heart of the Dunes of Copiapo: the fastest motorcyclists are expected to spend seven hours behind the wheel. Needless to say that on this decisive day there will be no shortage of opportunities for competitors to make a winning comeback in the race.

The tenth stage brought another unbelievable moment for Aleš Loprais: “A nice visit and a great surprise honoured me in the bivouac. The unpleasant accident affected us in 2012, when we fought with de Rooy about the winning. The micro sleep subdued our co-pilot in the connecting section. It was a terrible moment and one local family cared of us immediately after the crash and spent the time until the arrival of the helicopter with us and kept us awake. And this family arrived today to greet us to the finish of stage. It means much to me… Greetings to all, who keep their finger crossed and push us forward to pursuit of the Dakar Bedouins! Thanks!”

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová

PR manager

M: +420 736 614 438 | E: lucie@starlingwood.com

www.loprais.cz

15.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
Tweaks and attractions of the Dakar

One Dakar, two different routes

For many years the organizers of the Dakar tried to adapt the route of stages to the South American open terrain to enable all racers from all categories to race the route that precise fits the particular category. This year they did it in the five stages, where they separated the route for bikes and quads on the one hand and cars and truck on the other hand. Overall the separated routes were comprised of approximately 2000 km, which account for about forty percent of this year’s Dakar.

From the sports point of view has this separation two advantages. Firstly it enable the organizers to introduce the motorcycles and quads to the technical and often very narrow passages, while it allow trucks and cars to “rush to the track” without threat of a collision with stray biker. Therefore, the question of security is another important advantage – the divided stages significantly eliminate risks by overtaking. This aspect was further strengthened by the fact that the separated kilometres were concentrated at the start of the Dakar Rally, where a large number of racers were on the track. Bikers and quads can enjoy really hard marathon stages, when they spent a night in inaccessible places in the camps which didn’t allow the team support. They had to rely only on their strength and possibly help of the other racers.

Clash of concepts: The classic versus the “long nose”

The Dakar truck competing offers one interesting comparison – in the race you can see cars of the different concepts. In addition to traditional trucks with a severed nose there are the trucks with the “long nose”, which usually boasts a large American trucks. The change is motivated by technical aspects: the long nose” has a cabin behind the front axle, thus offering a more comfortable riding position for the crew, especially appreciate by the jumps. Another advantage is the better weight distribution, which results in a much smoother and more stable behaviour in the track.

But is it enough to justify the extension of this type of car in the race?

“Not necessarily,” says Fabien Calvet, the director of the Dakar truck section. “Long nose, it is not only benefits,” says. “These cars are at least 300 kg heavier than conventional trucks, so they consume more fuel. In addition, the shape of the hood makes it difficult to view, which is a big handicap especially in the dunes,” says Calvet. Nevertheless the chief of the Dakar truck section recognizes that the appearance of these machines is exceptional. “And they are creating a stir, so they are guaranteed advertising tools! Finally, a new generation of concept such as Tatra Jamal, which is used by Aleš Loprais, offers a better compromise: cab moved back due to comfort, better weight distribution, but modest nose, not as Iveco of Gerard de Rooy, to avoid undue restriction of vision and weight gain. So what is the best? The answer will be known in the finish in Valparaiso,” says Fabien Calvet.

We believe that in today’s stage will Aleš Loprais with his “humble nose” and his 504 crew and teammates with the number of 519 go well again and it will be enough to a podium to be inmodest.

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová