Stage 7: 402km to start second race week!
Today was a region still unexplored by the Dakar that competitors invested for the resumption of the debates after the well deserved rest day in Riyadh. This discovery began with a hundred kilometers of dunes, from one erg to another without taking a break. After this high density crossing challenge, driving became less complex, but the labyrinth of tracks causes nervous breakdowns in the cockpits!
Our best stage result so far, 5th, keeping 7th position in T4 class.
Rest day allowed mechanics to completely renew the car after an intense first week. Many parts were changed and a new suspension setup has been decided to offer more comfort and less wear on mechanical parts.
Finishing the stage in 5th position with less than 5 minutes gap on the winner, and among the Can-Am factory cars, feels like an achievement for the whole team. Jerome was decided to « push » today and Mika was confident in the navigation part, completing all mandatory waypoints with no big time loss.
We must admit all the team is really proud of the job done in this stage as it gives a huge boost to everyone. Our competitors in front and behind suffered a few incident which allowed us to keep our position overall, but we will remain focused and aware of any situation until the end of the race, having in mind tomorrow’s stage is announced to be very long and tricky, with a lot of sand!
Jérôme de Sadeleer – Driver : « P5 sounds amazing! From the start of the stage I paid attention to the car and I noticed the few adjustments done on the car really worked well. I pushed for sure but kept it clean driving as we were aware a good result was coming with that pace. It is a good performance. »
Mika Metge – Navigator : « Very good day with zero mechanical issues. We pay attention to our variator belt as the trucks in front of us changed the terrain in most part. After the sand part, navigation went well and I was confident in the capes following and waypoint validations as we were seeing competitors « gardening » here and there. »
Cyril Neveu – Team Manager : « After the rest day, they were instantly in the right pace as this fast terrain suits Jerome still driving. Tomorrow will be a long day where not doing mistakes will be crucial. They will start earlier and with last trucks in fro,n,nt of them so the tracks will be in better state and will maybe be easier to handle. »