– Michele Cinotto consolidates the P11 in the overall while his son Michele finishes the stage in P15.
The 4th stage, the longest of the rally with a liaison of 242 kms and 465 kms of timed section, brought the competitors from Al Qaisumah to the capital Riyadh. Heading south, the competitors were requested to make a shift and adapt quickly to a change of stage philosophy with 200 kms of fast tracks, a central part with chains of dunes of varying size, and a rocky finish with several wadi crossings.
Ideated to test the stamina and the endurance of men and vehicles, the four Xtremeplus crews reacted really well. Pietro Cinotto and Alberto Bertoldi of the CST Polaris Xtremeplus team were the fastest today and finished in P15. Followed closely by Michele Cinotto and Maurizio Dominella – CST Polaris Xtremeplus in P19.
It was a very good day also of Jean-Claude Pla and his son Jerome, 33rd and Shisuke Umeda and David Giovannetti in P39.
« It was a very long stage with tricky navigations and many changes of directions. It was interesting also the dunes part. We only had some issues with the navigation because the track was so fast that it was difficult to follow the roadbook », stated Pietro Cinotto. « The machine and the tyres worked really well especially in hard fast pistes ».
« We are happy to have consolidated the 11th position of the overall also after today 465 km-long stage. Today the navigation was tricky and we made some mistakes, but all in all we minimized the problems. Tomorrow cars and bikes will follow two different routes so it will be important to remain focused and continue with this good momentum », said Michele Cinotto, 19th today.
« This is our first Dakar and we are pushing but staying within the limits. The race is still long and we prefer to manage the energies. Jerome is doing a great job, navigation is crucial out there », said Jean Claude Pla.
« Every day we improve and despite some issues and many wadi crossing, we succeeded to improve our pace and we arrived at the bivouac earlier than the previous days. This is a very good news. We have more time to rest », said Shinsuke Umeda.
Tomorrow 4 and 2 wheels will separate following two different loops before returning to the Ryad bivouac.
SS4 stage result (SSV Category):
Pietro Cinotto P 15
Michele Cinotto P 19
Jean-Claude Pla P 33
Shinsuke Umeda P 30
General Standing (SSV Category):
Michele Cinotto P 11
Pietro Cinotto P 23
Jean Claude Pla P 28
Shinsuke Umeda P 39