– The race of the Rookies Pla and Umeda continue well with P37 and P42 respectively
In the 5th stage, a loop of 421 kms of timed section around the capital Riyadh, the racers tackled a timed section that marked an abrupt change in tone from the previous ones. The dirt tracks peppered with stones in the first part of the stage put an extra stress on drivers and theirs machines with many dangers represented by rocks hidden under the sand. It was quiet a challenge ride, followed by twisty paths through canyons and a final part of dunes, stretching for almost 80km.
Unfortunately, the day didn’t go as expected for Michele Cinotto and Maurizio Dominella- CST Polaris Xtremeplus Team. An electrical problem ruined their race as they were doing really well. Yesterday in fact they were officially in P10 of the overall.
Unfortunately, the unexpected is part of racing and this is especially true for the Dakar Rally, where anything can happen behind the corner or the next dune. The good news is that tomorrow the experienced Italian duo will rejoin the race with the maximum time penalty as in the regulations.
It was not the present that Michele Cinotto expected for his birthday. But the race is still long and from tomorrow the crew nr 423 will restart determined to do well.
It was a tough day also for Pietro Cinotto and Alberto Bertoldi – CST Xtremeplus Team. « It was a very fast and varied stage with invisible pistes, dangerous rocky paths and finally 80 kms of dunes. It was challenging. It’s a pity for my dad Michele, they were doing a great race », said Pietro Cinotto who finished 40th and they are in P25 of the ovearall. « We were doing well till km 190 when we had a technical issue that compromised the stage and we had to finish going quiet slow with two wheel drive instead of four. »
« Again it was a very fast stage and for the navigation was quiet challenging, but today the problem was not that, it was a pity because we were doing a great job and the machine was working good so far », said Alberto Bertoldi.
Jean Claude and Jerome Pla finished in P37 and in P27 of the overall, while Shinsuke Umeda and David Giovannetti in P42 (P39 in the overall).
« The terrain was very demanding with many rocks on the first section, so we decided to slow down a bit and preserve the car. We had no issue with the navigation as well, we just hesitated to find a way point on the dune and we lost 4-5 minutes, but apart that we validated all the way points. We are satisfied », said Jerome Pla.
« It was a good day. We also decided to drive a bit careful on the rocky paths to save the car. Every day we learn something new and I’m enjoying the adventure », said Shinsuke Umeda.
Tomorrow, the stage 6 features another loop around Ryadh and then a well deserved rest day on January 8th.