Francisco Moreno, the revelation inspired by La Scaloneta in a Dakar that crossed the water

Cold afternoon in Ha’il. After Wednesday’s rain, Thursday’s sun didn’t warm up as expected, so the low temperatures affected the riders, who arrived at the field with petrified faces.Dakar 2023 is very tough. All contestants agree that it is the most challenging in years. For this reason, for everyone who reaches the goal, the satisfaction is double. Effort reevaluates every outcome.

Y This is how Francisco Moreno from Mendoza arrived, protected by a waterproof cloakforecast for rain, which surprises improbably from time to time in these deserts, but it all serves to nip the chill.

Moreno is the protagonist of the 5th stage of the Dakar for the Argentine legion, given that he took the day’s victory in the quads, which places him in second place in the general classification, 39 minutes behind the Frenchman Alexander Giraud.

“I had a very good stage. I was able to work around the navigation issues and got to the end without any problems. I pulled with several contestants for a moment, until I lost them,” he commented to clarion upon reaching the Ha’il bivouac.

Tupungato’s pilot, Mendoza, is a farmer. But at the age of 5 his father gave him a quad and at 12 he dedicated himself to racing, winning provincial and national titles. He raced in the United States and made his debut in the Dakar last year, becoming a revelation after taking second place in his category.

Still sitting on his Yamaha Raptor 700R, assisted by the French Dragon team, he spoke with Clarín.

-I remember in 2022 you wrote a word on the tank of your quad, and it said “enjoy”.

-It’s true, it was about this, enjoying what I was doing, it was a dream for me. And I did.

-And now?

-Last year it meant enjoying the race. And this year I do too. But this time I came up with a phrase that stuck in my mind from the documentary they made with the Argentina national team. And he said that ‘the greatest victory is the one you get over yourself’. I came to beat that sentence.

-In 2022 you were second…

-Yup. But even if last year I finished second, this time if I win the race, I’m third or I drop out, it’s about personal improvement.

Francisco Moreno runs his hand over that tank, where the current inscription is: “The greatest improvement is always winning over yourself.” The sentence is barely perceptible, given that the posters with the data corresponding to the stage are glued above the tank.

-Giraud is ahead. Are you going for the win?

-I’m going for my career. There is still a long way to go, we are one third of the Dakar. Anything can happen in this competition. You have to focus and follow through.

Behind Moreno was Pablo Copetti, fourth in the general standings, while Manuel Adujar finished eighth, accumulating problems that keep him away from the vanguard, given that he is 5th, but at 1h47m.

In moto, Kevin Benavides remains third on his KTM, after finishing in 8th place. Luciano, his brother, is 12th and 10th overall, while Franco Caimi is respectively 24th and 14th.

By car, Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah increase his overall lead by winning a stage again. Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota) is 13th overall and Sebastián Halpern 24th.

The rain complicates everything

Once again the rain complicates the Dakar field. The longest stage of the competition would have taken place on Friday, with a route of almost 900 kilometers, but the Al Duwadimi camp is flooded, so the caravan will carry out the 6th stage, but then connect up to Riyadh, the capital of Arabia Arabia, where it was expected to arrive on Sunday. In the next few hours what will be done on Saturday and Sunday will be defined.

Hello Saudi Arabia. Special for Clarion.