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Interview Karel Loprais

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12.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
How does it see Karel Loprais after the first half of the race

Karel Loprais knows as the six-time winner the Dakar Rally very well. Therefore, we had some questions about it in the middle of this year:

Saturday was a rest day. What is actually regime of the team at this day?
The team can sleep longer, but they must do heavy maintenance on the truck. They do the essential things, they have to replace those things which mechanics see fit.

Do the members of the racing crew help?
They need to put together. If need be, they certainly help, but there’s enough mechanics. But the main mechanic that goes in the crew would be hanging around to know what they were doing at the truck.

And what about official meetings, for example with fans? Do they have time for it?
It depends on the place. In the South America there are rest days In the large cities, so there are many people. But teams do not have enough time for fans, they have to work on technique and gain strength. In our time we travelled without assistance, so we had to work on the truck. Despite the fact that there were not so many people in Africa.

The six stages are over. How do you assess them?
The organizers got tougher. This is reflected in the renegades who do not ride anymore. But basically the Dakar returns to the original tracks which I remember. The boys had two tough days. We drove the day stage, after it night stage and day stage again. Without time to sleep, without assistance. Now it’s hard but those who were ready go further. At our times the eight hundred kilometres long stages ran frequently. We came to the bivouac, went to sleep and next day just got in the truck and drove away.

Aleš loses an hour and forty minutes to the leader de Rooy. Is it any chance to do anything with it?
There are still many chances before the finish of the Dakar. Everyone could have some problems, even de Rooy. Nothing is lost.

Was anything interesting for you at this year’s Dakar?
There are high temperatures, in Africa there wasn’t. It is enemy of all.

Let’s return to the team, to the truck especially. The 4×4 dust was broken twice. How can it happen that the same fault recurs?
It just happens. I didn’t talk to guys, so I don’t know what was exactly wrong with the truck. We’ll se what they say.

Ando your forecast for the second week of the Dakar Rally?
If the technique will be right, it will be good. The crew goes on, you can see it on them.

karel

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 12th, 2014

January 11: Rest day


Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 12th, 2014

Martin Kolomy: With three wheels over the finish of Stage 6

10.1. – 10.1.2014

DAKAR – 6.stage 2014

Tucuman/Salta – This is a real extreme! What Martin Kolomý achieved and experienced at Dakar Rally in the past two days is unbelievable. After big technical problems in stage five he had to drive virtually non stop to be in time for the start of stage six. Then he passed the finish line of stage six on three wheels, to the astonishment of everybody, to stop a couple of metres after the finish. Although the longed for first rank will not be achieved by the Tatra Buggyra Racing team this year, they certainly provide for fantastic stories at Dakar and show heroic performances. And all that stil before completion of the first half of the whole competition.

6th stage (Tucumán – Salta) – 550km
measured section – 156km
transfer – 394km
“We virtually did not sleep at all. We arrived at the bivouac in the morning and the boys started work on the truck right away. We were afraid we might not manage to repair all in time for the start. We did but we are exhausted,” the pilot Martin Kolomý wept off sweat from his forehead.
For a long time without any information many waited whether Kolomý would manage to appear at the start of stage six. He had to cover a nearly two hundred and fifty kilometre long transfer before that. He started for the measured section as forty first. Despite all the trouble he even managed to accelerate on the track, overtaking one truck after another. At the last fourth interim time mark he even ranked thirteenth. “We were terribly looking forward to the finish, where he wanted to take a good rest, and of course we wanted to show that the truck condition was good enough. We were lucky that the programme for the day included the shortest stage of the whole rally, and to we hurried as quickly as we could,” Martin Kolomý smiled again.
The thirteenth rank to which the Fat Boy worked its way in the course of the stage visibly did not bring good luck to it. In the final part of the stage Martin Kolomý knocked off the right front wheel including the axle driving shaft and the brake mechanism. He eventually passed the finish line on the twenty third rank with the loss of sixteen minutes behind the winner. The spectators were certainly astonished seeing his Tatra passing the finish on three wheels. “The stage was too quick and dusty. When overtaking one of the passenger cars the car pushed us off the track and we probably hit a stone, which knocked off our wheel and destroyed our ambitions for a decent rank. Without the slightest hesitation we loaded the reserve and covered the remaining seven kilometres on three wheels to meet the target of the stage,” was Kolomý´s description of his acrobatic tour de force, after which he stopped the Fat Boy a hundred metres behind the finish line on the left side of the road. “The main thing is that we reached the finish. That was the only important thing for us. We were left with no more strength for anything,” admitted the navigator René Kilián.
The shortest stage of the Dakar rally was surprisingly won by the Belgian crew of pilot Versluis, who reached for the gold from the twelfth rank. This had virtually no effect on the leading ranks of the race. Te overall first rank is still held by the Dutch De Rooy. Martin Kolomý was penalised with eight hours for the Thursday, which increased his overall loss behind the leader of the race to eleven hours, with the resulting twenty eighth interim rank. This deficit makes it virtually impossible to struggle for the overall laurel but the team can still show that they belong to the absolute world top in their category and if it were not for the big portion of bad luck they would even receive the “stamp” for that in the form of the overall result. Now they would like to fight for individual success – a victory in a stage.
Even other Czech crews with Gyrtech support are also good. The only team that had to leave the race after Thursday was the team of Jaroslav Valtr of KM Racing. His colleague Vlastimil Vildman holds the overall fourteenth rank. Tomáš Vrátný ranks seventeenth and Arthur Ardavichus of the Bonver Dakar project ranks twenty fifth.
Saturday will bring the well deserved free day at Dakar. “this is an extreme, we did not sleep for three days and so we will put the truck together and use the free day for maximum regeneration to survive the last week of the rally,” added the technical director of Buggyra Robin Dolejš.
Results – Stage 6 (156 km): 1. Versluis (BEL) MAN 1:52:55, 2. Karginov (RUS) Kamaz +1:11, 3. Van Vliet (NED) MAN +1:36, 4. Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz +2:07, 5. Stacey (NED) Iveco +2:47, 9. Loprais (CZE) Tatra +4:52, 11. Vrátný (CZE) Tatra +6:50, 19. Tománek (CZE) Tatra +13:31, 21. Ardavichus (KAZ) Tatra +13:38, 22. Vildman (CZE) Liaz +15:50, 23. Kolomý (CZE) Tatra Buggyra +16:05.
Overall: 1. De Rooy (NED) Iveco +23:14:27, 2. Karginov (RUS) Kamaz +29:05, 3. Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz +1:07:42, 4. Sotnikov (RUS) Kamaz +1:22:35, Stacey (NED) Iveco +1:34:44, 6. Loprais (CZE) Tatra +1:39:53, 15. Vildman (CZE) Liaz +6:00:21, 17. Vrátný (CZE) Tatra +6:18:36, 22. Tománek (CZE) Tatra +7:19:28, 25. Ardavichus (KAZ) Tatra +9:39:03, 28. Kolomý (CZE) Tatra Buggyra +11:02:51.

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 11th, 2014

Kolomy penalized with 8 hours after mechanical problems in stage 5

9.1. – 9.1.2014

DAKAR – 5.stage 2014

Chilecito/Tucuman – If you are to meet a bad luck, then a good piece of it! Real hell was on stock for the crew of the Tatra Buggyra Racing team in the 5th stage of the Dakar Rally. After the pilot Martin Kolomý successfully survived the Wednesday hardest Dakar test, after which he collapsed in the finish, his truck received a hard blow in the very next stage. Its compressor broke down in the mountains in a place hard to access. The defect was only repaired after long eight hours after which it could only start for the second measured section of the stage. The whole team is after a hard night and in worries whether the chances for a decent final ranking have completely withered away or not.

5th stage (Chilecito – Tucumán) – 911km
measured section – 527km (reduced at 428 km)
transfer – 384km
“The compressor is unfortunately a vital part of the truck for it is used for air blowing to the brakes, the gear box, the tyres and the suspension. We were simply knocked down without it,” described the defect the pilot Martin Kolomý, who in addition got stuck in a worst possible place, in a mountain pass.
The fifth racing day was to be the longest of this year ´s rally in its total number of kilometres. That is why the organizers again divided the stage to two measured sections. The first was covered by the crew of Martin Kolomý excellently again. After the 211 kilometres they ranked ninth with a 35-minute loss behind the leader, the Russian trucker Sotnikov. At that time the crew was also the best of the Czech teams. But at the same time the problems with the compressor commenced. Kolomý still managed to cover another 110 km of the neutralisation zone to the second measured part of the race before the truck finally stopped. If he was driving a motorcycle or a four-wheeler he could be happy. “The organizers cancelled the second measured section for these categories for safety reasons, as due to the rains of last week the shape of the river basin changed. In addition the heat was unbearable. This part was considerably shortened for cars and trucks. If al worked well, we would reach the finish within the standard two hours, but this way we faced a real hell of a day,” the co-pilot David Kilián shook his head over the bad luck meeting them.
The Russian pilot Sotnikov maintained his sovereign position in the second measured section as well and arrived in the finish for a victory which moved him to the overall fourth rank. The leader De Rooy ranked third with the mere loss of twelve minutes, which did not deprive him of his overall first rank in the truck category. Kolomý moved again after eight hours. “Martin started for the last section of the stage shortly before midnight of our time. After the shortening the remaining section amounted to some hundred measured kilometres and another 250 to the bivouac and then in the morning the start of the next stage. Everybody is extremely exhausted and we are all waiting for the information about the final outcome of this,” admitted the technical director of Buggyra Robin Dolejš from the venue.
The fifth stage of the rally was fatal for many other crews as well. TV shots often showed the hard men crying with despair. Dakar is justly called the hardest endurance competition in the world. It is not clear yet whether Kolomý has definitely lost chances for an overall rank. Although his crew has not yet appeared in the results they are already included in the next stage starting charter. “The stage is started shortly before half past eleven local time but at a quarter past six the trucks already have to start for the transfer section. We cannot say now whether our chances for an overall laurel have disappeared completely or not. First of all we have to wait for the boys to reach the bivouac and then we will see what will come next,” added the Buggyra team manager Jan Kalivoda.
The Friday 6th stage from Tucuman to Salta is the shortest measured section of all for a change. The trucks will only have to cover 156 measured kilometres before the free Saturday. This makes 550 km altogether with all the transfers.

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 11th, 2014

Tomecek’s road to victory

8th January 2014 – The most difficult stage – Akjoujt – Akjoujt

znackaEvery day, I think what to talk about and try to choose the most interesting out of that bustle taking place around us. Today I have to start with the stage. No doubt, it has been both the most difficult and beautiful in the Africa Race. The start was located eighty kilometres east of the bivouac on a plain with grazing camels. The initial sixty kilometres led the racers into a wide valley surrounded by high, coal-black rocks. The valley is several dozens of kilometres long and full of nice yellow dunes. A beautiful view of such contrast. This was our today’s journalistic destination – to get there and to find a mountainside with a pass. The racers have to find their way to it and take it to leave the valley. The shots of racing Tatra and other competitors in this environment will make you happy. We get up before the bikers do. That’s the only way how to get to that place. The sunrise catches us on an asphalt road. A moment later, we start using navigation to find our way off the marked routes. The first ten kilometres lead along a “dirt track”.

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7th January 2014 – Mauritania – Akjoujt

znackaRaces in Africa cannot be held without support of local governments. Both Morocco and Mauritania are more or less camouflaged military states even though Morocco is officially a kingdom and Mauritania a presidential republic. In Mauritania, presence of soldiers is felt everywhere. Moreover, the whole race is fully under their supervision. They usually stay afar, but they know about us. In the morning we went to dunes to wait for the racers to arrive. We had hardly stopped and an army vehicle appeared at the horizon. The soldier watched us by binoculars and then they left. They know about us. Taking into consideration the present state of the race taking part only to the west of the town of Atar, I wondered whether the situation in the east was really so dangerous…

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6th January 2014 – Mauritania – Chami

znackaMauritania is one of the poorest countries of the world. There are many reasons. I am not to judge if it is caused by local politics, insensitive division of borders in the recent past, or lack of raw materials to export. It’s like that and we cannot understand, nor change it in those few days we are here. I’ve discussed this issue with Manfred Kriss, a former racer who organises the Africa Race with René Metge. We talked about the change of perception of Africa in the past few years. The continent, once exotic, has changed due to wars in the minds of thoughtful people into a place to avoid. The situation in Syria stands for an example. But it is important to know that this doesn’t apply to Morocco and Mauritania also welcomes such races with open arms. Morocco is a tourist destination which has successfully avoided recent problems of the Northern Africa….

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5th January 2014 – Rest day

znackaToday, the Africa Race holds a rest day. Translated into common speech it means that there is no stage and we don’t have to move to another place. The race has stopped for a while on a peninsula in the Western Sahara, near the town of Dakhla. No one has free time though. The rumble of starting engines is fully compensated with power generators. Cars and bikes are more dismantled than on a regular day. Everyone wants to make use of this time to change everything what time and race regulations allow. Our Tatra requires a preventive change of all shock absorbers, check of filters, and as Tomáš says “cosmetic treatment”, which means to repair torn fenders, to weld cracks on cabin fastening, and other similar works. As you can see, we don’t have to do major repairs today. Once our mechanics have finished, they will help guys from the balais.

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4.1.2014 – As Skan – Dakhla

znackaEvery day when Tomáš and Vojta summarise their impressions from the stage, I often get statements “very fast, damn fast all the way long”. I sense it as racers’ cliché, but only until I realise what it really means. Europe is sterile. It holds for racing as well. Try to compare your rally experience with facts of today’s “short” stage. Two hundred kilometres of a special. Speed average over a hundred kilometres per hour going through places you have never been to before, thus with no test or notes. Everything takes place in a difficult terrain, under pressure, knowing that everything can be lost in a second, but little gained…

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3rd January 2014, Life in Morocco – Assa – As Skan

znackaTaking part in a competition which passes through the countries of western Africa means to get to places free of tourists. Well frankly, mostly there isn’t anything you would like to see during your holiday. At least at first sight. If you use different optics, you will find out that they can offer more than it can be obvious. It’s not about taking photos of interesting natural phenomena. It’s a kind of awakening and real comparison of our culture with the local Arabian one.

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2.1.2014 – Stage Foum Zguid – Assa

znackaMorocco is rather stony than sandy, but it has some dunes, of course. The Sahara ends, or begins, near the town of M’Hamid. Yesterday, René Metge used this part of the Sahara to show the racers what to expect in Mauritania. Many of them had big troubles. Today, there was no sign of sand, but rather hundreds of kilometres of stony tracks…

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1.1.2014 – First dunes Boudnib – Foum Zgiuid

znackaRefuelling at a local petrol station made me think about how the Dakar competition brings various unusual situations, which are out of the usual pace of not only direct participants. Their solutions are also unusual, sometimes even ridiculous. A convoy of service vehicles caused certain troubles at one of petrol stations along the way. A lack of diesel and petrol in underground tanks was compensated by a placed tank truck, which was, despite light camouflage, directly connected to the fuel hoses in the stands. I ignored the safety view of such an installation and rather observed the way how to solve troubles caused by this. The pressure in the hoses fluctuated as the pumps didn’t count with the solution of a directly joined tank truck.

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31.12.2013 Stage Nador – Boudnib

znackaBoarding the ferry always takes place in a bit chaotic atmosphere. One has only a limited time to arrange all paperwork regarding people and vehicles entering Morocco. The organisers always try to speed up this process and to make an agreement with the custom officers about the checks. This year has been the best of all year I remember. Hundreds of people managed to get into their cabins in less than an hour after boarding. Three officers stamped the passports without any detailed examination of what was written there and another two arranged all needed documents for the vehicles. Every saved minute is precious and we can have only a four-hour sleep. In the morning, everyone will be welcomed in the port (with breakfast). All policemen cooperate so debarking is completely trouble-free. We even don’t have show our passports when leaving the port. I can’t help thinking about the Rally Shamrock 2009. We had a civilian car and tried to get from the port in Tanger and it was much more difficult…

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Archive of all n


Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 11th, 2014

Tomecek (Tatra) wins Africa Eco Race truck class!

Bandeau madmimi aer 2014
NEWSLETTER RALLYE SONANGOL AFRICA ECO RACE Friday January 10 th 2014 ÉTAPE N°10: TOUEILA / SAINT LOUIS: 493km TRANSFERT: BIVOUAC / TOUEILA: 6km SPÉCIALE: TOUEILA / GHREIDAT LIGKJOULÉ: 202km LIAISON: GHREIDAT LIGKJOULÉ / SAINT LOUIS: 285km

SCHLESSER, TOMECEK AND PISANO

WIN THE 2014 SONANGOL AFRICA ECO RACE
Its between Toueila and Ghreidat Ligkjoulé, on the west Mauritanian coast near Nouakchott that the last stage of the SONANGOL AFRICA ECO RACE took place. The last selective sector was mainly composed by beautiful dunes and sandy tracks and was a real driving pleasure for the leaders, Jean Louis SCHLESSER, Michael PISANO and Tomas TOMECEK. Today, Friday 10th of January, the bivouac takes place in St Louis in Senegal, before joining the last stage, tomorrow, on the Atlantic Ocean shore with a mythical arrival at the “Lac Rose”.
Car: Last one for SCHLESSER
In his SONANGOL buggy this morning, SCHLESSER had in mind only one thing, win the last selective sector of the Rally he already won 6 times in 6 years. The “BOSS” didn’t fail and won on a field his knows by heart. As a result, the duo SCHLESSER – MAGNALDI win with 5’11 in front of Jean Antoine SABATIER and Denis ROZAND. The 3rd place of the day is earned by the St Cyprien crew, Xavier LORMAND and Guillaume JORDA, quite sad this year as they wanted to show more of their racing colors and potential on this event, but because of their mechanical problems, they did not get the chance to reach the podium.
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Jean Louis SCHLESSER was delighted at the arrival: “The first person for who I have thoughts is of course Michael SCHUMACHER. He is a friend and I really hope he’ll get better and back on track for me to show him what is Africa Race. I want to thank all the people who have worked hard to make this event happen. I also thank Thierry MAGNALDI which has been perfect. He is a great navigator and I would advise him to any top driver. Thanks also to all of our partners, especially SONANGOL without who this whole thing would not happen.”
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Few words from Magnaldi: ” I of course want to thank Jean Louis to have trusted me and given me the opportunity to be his navigator. It was a great experience to be in such a car with such a driver. I’m also delighted to be back in Africa which I cherish a lot, throughout a beautiful race with a great organization. I hope I’ll be back soon at the wheel.”
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In the general ranks, Jean Louis SCHLESSER wins in front of Jackie LOOMANS and Frits DRIESMANS, winner of the T1 4×4 category, whereas Stephane HENRARD and Bruno BARBIER climb on the 3rd step of the podium and win the Open category. Jean Antoine SABATIER finishes 4th and 2nd of the T1 2×4 petrol in front of Gilles FLORIN and Hervé COTEL, 8th in the general rankings. Finishing 10th, Yves and Jean FROMONT win the T1 2×4 diesel category whereas Remy CHAPOT and Michael PAGET, for their first experience in Auto, classify 14th and win the rigid axles category. The first of the T2 category, close to standard are Philippe THIOLAT and Jean Louis JUCHAULT and finish 24th in general. The first African crew, composed by Thierry MAURY and Jean Sagar MALOUF MAURY finish 35th. Philippe PINCHEDEZ and Thierry PICCO win the T3 category, dedicated to SSVs.
Truck: KOVACS all in!
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Even if there wasn’t much suspense concerning the first place in the truck category as Tomas TOMECEK and Vojtech MORAVEK where untouchable with such a gap, but behind nothing was done because Elisabete JACINTOs crew was only 2’50 in front of Miklos KOVACS, Pete CZEGLEDI and Lazlo ACS. Finally the Hungarian motivation took over and the won the stage 4’03 in front of JACINTO. The Portuguese finishes then 3rd with her MAN behing the Hungarian SCANIA.
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Bike : PISANO the Manager
«The stage was magnificent. I would have loved to push harder! But the priority was to win the race, but I did not want to take stupid risks. I can’t even realise I won my first rally. I think I under estimated the event’s difficulty, especially in Morocco. But I adapted myself and it worked out. I learned a lot and I’m now more experienced! I’ll be back next years with some friends! Thanks to all the members of the organization.”
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These were Michael PISANO’s words and the end of today’s stage won by Robert THEURETZBACHER on his KTM. The 3rd was Gwen BACKX in front of Nobert DUBOIS and Dominique ROBIN, 2nd of the race and winner of the + 450 cc category, but unfortunately injured, falling just in front of the finish line. Luckily he managed to do the liaison stage and arrived at the bivouac before the pain was too hard to stand. Belgian Biker Joris VAN DYCK, real performer of this edition ends on the 3rd on the podium. The first and only African biker of this year’s edition, Harite GABARI who raced during 10 days with a painful arm, unfortunately broke his engine and finishes only 10th. The only girl in the bike category, the beautiful Julia SCHRENK, ends her first major rally in 20th position.
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Saturday 11th of January at 11 :00, will take place the awards ceremony, on a podium right next to the “Lac Rose” organized by the Automotive Sport federation of Senegal. The opportunity for the families of various participants to applaud their arrival of the SONANGOL AFRICA ECO RACE, just after the 24km long stage between Kayar and Lac Rose.
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CONTACTS

Deserts Aventures (Mandataire d’O.C.T) Veronique is at your disposal for any informations:
Email: veronique.caire@africarace.com Office: +33 (0)4 93 75 24 55 GSM: +33 (0)6 70 22 68 44
Competitiors department: concurrents@africarace.com Press department: presse@africarace.com General informations: info@africarace.com Travel department : voyage@africarace.com
All the information on: www.africarace.com
Crédits photos : Alain ROSSIGNOL et Jorge CUNHA
Bandeau madmimi aer 2014 sponsors-RALLYE
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Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 11th, 2014

Loprais comments on yesterday’s truck sprint

10.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
The sixth hasty stage

Hasty… This is perhaps the most fitting title for the sixth part of the Dakar adventure in which went trucks from Tucumán to Salta “only” 156 measured kilometres. Against the previous ultramarathon stages in which were the differences between the racers in tens of minutes or hours, this time was every second very important.

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The Dutchman Versluis was the fastest on the stones, his time in finish was 1:33:54. The second Nikolajev lagged behind him for 78 second and the fifth Stacey lost after Nikolajev just 17 seconds! In the day of his birthday didn’t lost Aleš Loprais, who brought his Queen to finish on the 9th place with lost of four minutes and three seconds. He was on the seventh place in the overall classification, but after the additional hourly penalty of the Russian Šibalov he moved to the sixth place. He is loosing an hour and 39 minutes to the leading De Rooy and about 32 minutes to the third Nikolajev. The crew of Jan Tománek is currently on the 22nd place.

Saturday will halve the Dakar competition, it is the rest day. Reaching the rest day represents a major intermediary goal on the Dakar. Some of the rally’s newcomers, who are conscious of how tough the challenge is, may even regard this as a tiny victory. So the drivers and teams will be welcomed with the honours of a halfway podium at the bivouac in Salta, where a first celebration has been organised for them. Thousands of spectators are expected to come and discover the Dakar Village, as they did in Tucuman last year, where they will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of the rally, take advantage of the great variety of entertainment and activities on offer and meet the race’s key figures. It will also allow the competitors to boost their motivation levels and recharge their batteries. But seriously tested technique requires the best care so it is expected that the mechanics can not stop even in the bivouac in Salta and the rest day let them repair everything necessary with the bigger well-being.

So we wish a relaxing Saturday with nice people not only to you but also to our boys in Salta.

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová

PR manager

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

www.loprais.cz

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 11th, 2014

OVERALL RANKINGS AFTER STAGE 6

Pos. N° Nom Marque Temps écart Pénalité
501

IVECO

 23:14:27 - -
506

KAMAZ

 23:43:32 00:29:05 00:00:30
500

KAMAZ

 24:22:09 01:07:42 00:05:00
507

IVECO

 24:34:11 01:19:44 -
549

KAMAZ

 24:37:02 01:22:35 -
504

TATRA

 24:54:20 01:39:53 -
516

IVECO

 25:06:01 01:51:34 -
508

MAN

 25:12:25 01:57:58 -
510

MAN

 25:30:32 02:16:05 -
545

KAMAZ

 25:51:02 02:36:35 01:00:00
509

GINAF

 26:46:10 03:31:43 -
520

IVECO

 27:44:27 04:30:00 01:00:00
518

HINO

 28:04:41 04:50:14 -
548

GINAF

 28:57:52 05:43:25 00:10:30
525

LIAZ

 29:14:48 06:00:21 -
534

MAN

 29:15:18 06:00:51 -
515

TATRA

 29:33:03 06:18:36 -
529

MAZ

 29:38:15 06:23:48 -
540

DAF

 29:48:48 06:34:21 -
512

DAF

 29:59:53 06:45:26 -
505

MAN

 30:15:39 07:01:12 00:15:00
519

TATRA

 30:33:55 07:19:28 -
527

MAN

 32:26:27 09:12:00 -
538

MERCEDES

 32:41:53 09:27:26 00:05:00
542

TATRA

 32:53:30 09:39:03 02:05:00
532

HINO

 33:39:54 10:25:27 -
547

DAF

 33:43:45 10:29:18 -
502

TATRA

 34:17:18 11:02:51 01:00:00
531

MAN

 34:43:18 11:28:51 00:02:30
533

MAN

 35:14:02 11:59:35 00:05:00
557

GINAF

 35:14:52 12:00:25 -
539

TATRA

 37:19:37 14:05:10 02:00:00
522

DAF

 37:19:58 14:05:31 02:00:00
550

DAF

 37:32:06 14:17:39 -
511

GINAF

 37:37:26 14:22:59 02:00:00
535

DAF

 39:12:42 15:58:15 02:40:00
563

DAF

 39:13:50 15:59:23 02:40:00
514

GINAF

 39:35:30 16:21:03 01:36:20
543

MAN

 40:16:02 17:01:35 02:50:30
521

MAZ

 47:21:11 24:06:44 04:02:30
541

GINAF

 47:43:02 24:28:35 02:18:30
552

MERCEDES

 47:45:15 24:30:48 05:00:00
546

GINAF

 54:02:06 30:47:39 07:03:00
558

MERCEDES

 55:29:36 32:15:09 05:38:00
551

MERCEDES

 63:46:56 40:32:29 09:53:00
566

MERCEDES

 90:00:45 66:46:18 04:00:00
553

MAN

 127:12:22 103:57:55 02:00:00
568

MAN

 128:06:20 104:51:53 02:00:00
570

MAN

 149:29:03 126:14:36 06:28:30
575

TATRA

 170:59:33 147:45:06 02:41:20
555

RENAULT

 173:57:34 150:43:07 02:00:00
574

RENAULT

 274:29:57 251:15:30 02:43:00

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 10th, 2014

DAKAR STAGE 6:SAN MIGUEL DE TUCUMAN – SALTA

Once the trucks have left Tucuman, they cars will head north and drive along part of the renowned Ruta 40, and continue on in the heart of one of Argentina’s most beautiful landscapes. The possibilities to widen the gap will be limited but the most skilled drivers may be able to seize the opportunity of adding a stage to their list of wins.  The Kamaz team was quite strong in the early stages. At 57km, Eduard Nikolaevwas ahead of his team-mate Andrey Karginov, leading by 28″. Gerard De Rooy was third, 1′42″ behind the leader, whilst Dmitry Sotnikov came 3′08” behind Nikolaev in fourth.

In the end, however, it was Pieter Versluis (Man)who won the 156-km truck special, 1′11” in front of Andrey Karginov and 1′36” ahead of Marcel Van Vliet. Eduard Nikoaev and his Kamaz came in fourth, 2′07” behind the winner, with Hans Stacey finishing fifth, 2′47″ behind Versluis. After Anton Shibalov in sixth position, 3′09” behind the stage victor, Gerard De Rooy visibly contented himself with protecting his lead in the general standings before the rest day.

Loprais finished 9th, Vratny 11th, Tomanek 19 th, Ardavichus 21th, Kolomy 23rd, Blom 36th and Kasak 49th.  Kolomy seemed to be in trouble when he crossed the finish line after 156 km of the special, his truck had lost its front right wheel and has been at a standstill on the link stage just after the finish. The crew is believed to be ok.

TEMPS – Camions – ASS – étape 6 – secteur 2
Pos. N° Nom Heures Temps écart
505 12:56:25 01:52:55 -
506 12:11:06 01:54:06 00:01:11
508 12:57:01 01:54:31 00:01:36
500 12:31:02 01:55:02 00:02:07
507 12:49:12 01:55:42 00:02:47
545 12:43:34 01:56:04 00:03:09
501 12:29:01 01:57:01 00:04:06
516 12:43:13 01:57:43 00:04:48
504 12:51:47 01:57:47 00:04:52
549 12:13:37 01:59:37 00:06:42
515 13:05:15 01:59:45 00:06:50
510 12:41:11 02:01:41 00:08:46
529 13:45:01 02:03:01 00:10:06
534 13:09:36 02:03:06 00:10:11
520 13:13:43 02:05:13 00:12:18
511 13:15:55 02:05:25 00:12:30
509 13:20:36 02:05:36 00:12:41
512 13:15:15 02:05:45 00:12:50
519 13:13:26 02:06:26 00:13:31
540 13:25:01 02:06:31 00:13:36
542 12:55:33 02:06:33 00:13:38
525 13:18:45 02:08:45 00:15:50
502 13:43:30 02:09:00 00:16:05
522 13:19:47 02:10:47 00:17:52
514 13:20:00 02:12:00 00:19:05
518 13:18:17 02:12:17 00:19:22
535 13:39:05 02:13:35 00:20:40
538 13:33:00 02:15:00 00:22:05
548 13:29:31 02:15:01 00:22:06
527 13:34:34 02:15:04 00:22:09
563 13:27:10 02:16:10 00:23:15
557 13:34:21 02:16:51 00:23:56
541 14:03:31 02:18:01 00:25:06
547 13:33:53 02:18:23 00:25:28
531 13:53:18 02:21:18 00:28:23
539 13:30:15 02:22:45 00:29:50
543 13:47:09 02:26:09 00:33:14
550 14:01:15 02:28:45 00:35:50
532 13:51:29 02:29:29 00:36:34
552 13:59:31 02:31:01 00:38:06

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 10th, 2014

Loprais comments on stage 5

head

10.1.2014

NEWSLETTER INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS TEAM
The fifth stage sorted the field and our battle for survival on the 2014 Dakar continues

Organizers promised that they will prepare really hard Dakar. Stages confirmed they words. Challenging stages are destroying technique, participants are exhausted. The fifth stage from Chilecito to Tucumán wasn’t different. In addition the organizers really rattled the nerves of competitors and foremost navigators. Due to unclear navigation quite a few crews lose time already in the initial part of special stage. Organizers tangled events on the track that they didn’t let go motorcyclist to the second part of the special stage not to collide with the cars and trucks. Due to extreme temperatures of up to 47 Celsia degrees the organizers shortened the measured section from 527 km for quads and motorcycles. Drama because of the temperature experienced Paulo Goncalves, whom burned the bike.

After the repeat failure of 4×4 dust the mechanics of the InstaForex Loprais Team worked really hard overnight to be the Queen 69 fine. It happened, but Aleš started up from the depth of field and had to push through forward. He was sixteenth on the first waypoint, on the second he was seventh. That was true until the fourth waypoint, the 504 crew checked its position. On the fifth checkpoint, which was also the end of the first part of the special, had to fans of the team waited for long 38 minutes to finally see the Queen. After 211 km was Aleš thirteenth.

Neutralization, crossing to the start of the second measured section, has the team mastered and re-released into the sharp racing. It was the ninth place on the seventh waypoint which Aleš retained until the end of the gruelling stage. Dunes, sand, dust, stones and oppressive heat took a pounding to all even though the organizers shortened the stage from 527 km to 428 km. Motorcycles burned, cars and trucks didn’t want to go and many of those who hoped to a good rank, reached the finish with a huge delay. The situation also unfortunately affected the Czechs, Martin Kolomý yesterday didn’t reach the finish. Jaroslav Valtr, Josef Kalina and Jakub First, the crew of the Liaz truck will not reach the finish of the 2014 Dakar Rally like a year before. The same scenario repeats – motor of their vehicle didn’t make the hardest rally in the world.

The Russian Stonikov from Kamaz dealt the best with the rigors of the fifth stage, Aleš lost 42 minutes and 4 second to him. The second 519 crew of Jan Tománek was on the 15th place with the lost of 7 minutes and 34 seconds. Overall is Aleš Loprais on the seventh place with the lost of an hour and 39 minutes to De Rooy on the first place and 20 minutes to the third Nikolajev.

6th stage: Tucumán – Salta
The connecting section: 394 km / The special stage: 156 km
Today will the others envy the trucks. While motorcycles, quads and cars have to go more than four hundred kilometres long measured section, “only” 156 km wait to the trucks. They will go mostly to the west, stones will be under the wheels and they will climb again. But this time to as high as in previous stages, the highest point of the sixth special stage of the trucks will be approximately 2600 meters above sea level. Options for getting some time will be restricted, but let’s hope that our crews can handle it. Deserved rest waits for Saturday.

Problems on track unfortunately met our journalistic vehicle Nissan Navara, so we don’t have video from the fourth and fifth stage. The hardest race in the world examines technique extremely, but also people and their ability and willingness. We are happy that our people are fine and we literally “Go on!”

Ing. Lucie Houthoofdtová

Categorie: Racing & Rallying
January 10th, 2014
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