He wanted to be among the top three for his uncle Karel, a six-time Dakar champion who died at the end of the year. It did not work. Aleš Loprais will not finish Wednesday’s stage and if he does not manage to get the truck to the bivouac, from where he could continue with a high penalty, the race is over for him.
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“We drove as hard as we could, but luck left us a little today. The servo (steering) didn’t last on the middle dune where we jumped. It’s an essential part for us, which unfortunately we don’t have with us. So Lady can’t turn in the desert. “We believed in the box, but it didn’t work out. But that’s part of the Dakar. I wanted to drive it for Kaja, who was watching over us. And I’d like to thank everyone who cheered for us,” Loprais said.
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In the truck class, at least Martin Macik finished sixth when he lost less than four minutes to the victorious Russian Sotnikov.
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Martin Prokop also had serious problems. Due to technical problems, he remained standing on the route near the checkpoint at the 213th kilometer and a service team was heading for him. He will try to repair the car in the bivouac and continue on Thursday with a large penalty. However, he drops out of the elite ten.
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Stéphane Peterhansel then won the stage, but Nasir al-Attiya continues with a comfortable 33-minute lead.
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Bikers proved that it was a drop in Wednesday’s erzeta. Winner Toby Price covered 374 kilometers in three hours and five minutes! Martin Michek was only seven minutes slower and finished tenth. Jan Brabec was 29th and Milan Engel 32nd. The Frenchman Adrien van Beveren is in the lead.
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“The special was very hard, challenging. Very fast at first, but the last 80 kilometers were worth it because it was in the mountains. It wandered a lot. That’s why I chose a slightly lighter pace, focused on navigation to hit it all. paid off, “said Michek, who is currently 18.
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ATV Zdeněk Tůma finished fifth, but due to the resignation of American Copetti, he has already moved up to the overall fourth position! But he has almost five hours short of the top three.
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