With the second day, the race is really started. The loop Ha’il-Hail of 334 kms of timed section and 181 kms of liaison took place among the dunes and the mountains of the northern Saudi Arabia. Sand was still on the menu for the pleasure of the competitors but navigation was the key today with many top competitors of all categories getting lost due to the technical and tricky navigation.
It was a very good day for the Cinotto family with the experienced duo of Michele Cinotto and Maurizio Dominella finishing in 11th position in the SSV category only 41 minutes from today’s stage winner Aron Domzala and the 14th place for the young duo Pietro Cinotto and Alberto Bertoldi.
It was a good day also for the Jean Claude and Jerome Pla. The French father and son duo are at their first experience with the Dakar but they finished smoothly in P32 1h34min from the top.
« It was a beautiful stage in terms of landscape », said a satisfied Michele Cinotto, « our Polaris worked really well on the dunes and on the mountain tracks. We only had some navigations issues that made us lost some positions. In our internal competition between father and son today we finished in front, while Pietro started 12 minutes ahead of us this morning. We met them several times today while we were lost. We met them again in the dark and we did the last 80 kilometers together ».
« I really enjoyed today’s stage. It was beautiful and fun to drive. We also made some navigation mistakes but the feeling with my car and my co-driver Alberto is very good that I cannot complain ». said Pietro Cinotto, the second CST Polaris Xtreme crew today. « The sand was the great protagonist today. We started with a good pace, but unfortunately after the refueling I made a navigation mistake in a way point. It was a pity because we lost some time, but then we could recover in the second part of the stage that featured also some interesting downhill dunes. We also got some rain today around 5pm. The Dakar is an adventure and we look forward to tomorrow’s stage », commented Alberto Bertoldi.
Father and son Pla arrived P32 while Umeda and Giovannetti are finishing this long stage.
The marathon stage scheduled on day3 has been cancelled due to the heavy rain that compromised the bivouac, so both competitors and assistance will head to Al Qaisumah.