The Dakar is different from the rest of the sporting specialties, especially from the world of Motorsport, because here everyone shares the same place. The dining room, the bathrooms, the campsite. But this discipline offers a peculiarity: The marathon stage. There all the competitors live in a bivouac exclusively for them. An emporium where everyone eats together in the middle of the absolute desert and under the brightest stars.
There is no one there except the crews of Dakar vehicles. Entry to other team members or anyone who does not use the competition diver is prohibited. There are no campers or privileges there. Everyone sets up the tent, the sleeping bag and that’s it.until the starting time arrives for a new stage of the most extreme race in the world.
The thermal amplitude is intense. The sun barely sets on the desert horizon and the mercury drops violently. Under the intense cold, the pilots took refuge in personal tents.
French driver Sebastien Loeb talks to Romain Dumas. Photo: AFPA catering service to satisfy dinner, a few conversations in front of the stove to mitigate the cold of the Arabian night and the head fixed on what would be an exciting but also exhausting race the next day.
“I heard the pilots complaining about the cold. I laughed, because I’m used to the cold. I like to go fishing, I often go to the south of Argentina, and it is very cold there,” smiled Manuel Andújar, retracing his experience on the night of the “Marathon” of Dakar.
#It’s incredible to share the evening of dinner and camping with the idols I watched as a child on television. Sainz, Peterhansel, Nasser, the Benavides themselves. The experience is one of a kind, the fact that it’s with all of them is amazing. I would never have imagined it,” said Argentine debutant Santiago Rostan, originally from Neuquén, with amazement.
It’s true, the Benavides were there, they had dinner in the tent set up in the desert, they slept in their respective tents, but they had their heads set on what would happen. Each stage is an opportunity to strive forward.
When the clock struck midnight, Kevin Benavides started his 35th birthday.For me, birthdays are all the same, here at the Dakar, where there is no time to think about it“, commented the man from Salta, who received some signs written on cardboard from the race commissioners, with the huge “Happy Birthday”.
See this post on InstagramA post shared by Kevin Benavides (@kevinmaxbenavides)
More eloquent was his younger brother, Luciano, who, by waking him up, saved the birthday boy from losing precious time in the race. “Time passed and Kevin didn’t wake up.. She fell fast asleep. I had to wake him up by forcebecause he also started first, having won the previous stage. The scare was such that I didn’t even remember to greet him on his birthday.. Now I’ll do it later”, commented Luciano as he arrived at the Al Hofuf camp, which unlike the previous night, this bivouac is close to the large city of the Arab East.
Manu Andújar won the fourth stage and is first in four
Here the fourth stage ended, which brought the Argentine’s third partial victory, after Francisco Moreno and Kevin Benavides. It was Manu Andújar’s turn who, after winning, he jumped to the top of the overall quad classificationS.
“It was a good stage, I had fun. We have already started to enter the dunes, into the deep sand, where I managed to maintain a good pace. Luckily we have drawn the Marathon stage, in which we have to take care of the vehicle just in case”, underlined the Lobos driver. “Now the race strategy will begin. Even though there isn’t much to do here sometimes, you do it day by day. Luckily everything is going quite well. Now comes the hardest part,” explained Andújar, representing Boca Juniors, who is now 15 minutes ahead of Frenchman Alex Giraud.
Andújar took the fourth stage. Photo: EFEOn motorcycles, On his 35th birthday, Kevin gave himself third place on the stage, and is in fourth place overall, dominated by his Chilean friend Ignacio Cornejo. Luciano Benavides was sixth in the stage and remains in the same place in the standings, while Diego Llanos is fighting an inflammation in his right wrist.
In cars, Sebastiano Loeb He prevailed, but the local Al Rahji remains ahead of the general classification, over Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al Attiyah. Juan Cruz Yacopini of Mendoza failed to advance and is 22nd overall.
It wasn’t the best day for Nicolás Cavigliasso, who had problems in two passing points and finished 31st in the stage and 10th overall, where Eryk Gotzal dominated.
The activity will continue on Wednesday with the fifth stage, from Al Hofuf to Shubaytah. Date area, the fruit par excellence of Saudi Arabia, with a total route of 639 kilometres, of which 118 are special. When there are short bursts of speed, the demand is usually extreme. Be careful then
General positions in Motorcycles
CARLOS SAINZ AND LUCAS CRUZ – TEAM AUDI SPORT 15 Hours 48′ 58”
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH AND MATHIEU BAUMEL -NASSER RACING 15H 55′ 42”
MATTIAS EKSTRÖM AND EMIL BERGKVIST – TEAM AUDI SPORT 16H 02′ 21”
LUCAS MORAES AND ARMAND MONLEON – TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 16H 04′ 10”
SEBASTIEN LOEB AND FABIAN LURQUIN – BAHRAIN RAID XTREME 16H 08′ 29”
MATHIEU SERRADORI AND LOIC MINAUDIER – CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM 16H 08′ 59”
STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL AND EDOUARD BOULANGER – TEAM AUDI SPORT 16H 11′ 35”
VAIDOTAS ZALA AND PAULO FIUZA – X-RAID ARIJUS TEAM 16H 17′ 21”
GUILLAUME DE MEVIUS AND XAVIER PANSERI – OVERDRIVE RACING 16H 23′ 22”
1 – JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO – MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 17H 27′ 13”
2 – ROSS BRANCH – HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY 17H 28′ 28”
3 – RICKY BRABEC – MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 17H 32′ 09”
4- KEVIN BENAVIDES – RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 17H 47′ 52”
5 – ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN – MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 17H 49′ 43”
6 – LUCIANO BENAVIDES – HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING 17H 58′ 24”
7 – PABLO QUINTANILLA – MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 17H 58′ 57”
8 – TOBY PRICE – RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 18H 02′ 07”
9 – MARTIN MICHEK – ORION – MOTORCYCLE RACING GROUP 18H 05′ 24”
10- ROMAIN DUMONTIER – TEAM DUMONTIER RACING 18H 05′ 57′
General ranking of quads
1 – (ARG) MANUEL ANDUJAR – 7240 TEAM SERVICE / DRAGON RALLY 03H 35′ 06”
2 – (FRA) ALEXANDRE GIROUD – YAMAHA RACING – SMX – DRAG’ON 03H 35′ 38” / + 00H 00′ 32”
3 – (BRA) MARCELO MEDEIROS – TAGUATUR RACING TEAM 03H 45′ 42” / + 00H 10′ 36′
4 – (LTU) LAISVYDAS KANCIUS – RACING HISTORY 03H 48′ 15” / + 00H 13′ 09”
5 – (SVK) JURAJ VARGA – VARGA MOTORSPORT TEAM 04H 23′ 41” / + 00H 48′ 35”
General locations in cars
YAZEED AL RAJHI AND TIMO GOTTSCHALK – OVERDRIVE RACING 15H 44′ 39”
CARLOS SAINZ AND LUCAS CRUZ – TEAM AUDI SPORT 15 Hours 48′ 58”
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH AND MATHIEU BAUMEL -NASSER RACING 15H 55′ 42”
MATTIAS EKSTRÖM AND EMIL BERGKVIST – TEAM AUDI SPORT 16H 02′ 21”
LUCAS MORAES AND ARMAND MONLEON – TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 16H 04′ 10”
SEBASTIEN LOEB AND FABIAN LURQUIN – BAHRAIN RAID XTREME 16H 08′ 29”
MATHIEU SERRADORI AND LOIC MINAUDIER – CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM 16H 08′ 59”
STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL AND EDOUARD BOULANGER – TEAM AUDI SPORT 16H 11′ 35”
VAIDOTAS ZALA AND PAULO FIUZA – X-RAID ARIJUS TEAM 16H 17′ 21”
GUILLAUME DE MEVIUS AND XAVIER PANSERI – OVERDRIVE RACING 16H 23′ 22”
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.