The Dacia Sandriders endured a challenging second day on Rally-Raid Portugal with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb both hitting trouble as round four of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship crossed over the border into neighbouring Spain.
Cristina Gutiérrez and navigator Pablo Moreno, in the third Dacia Sandrider, stopped to help their colleagues in a tremendous display of sporting behaviour and teamwork.
However, despite the setbacks, The Dacia Sandriders can look ahead to the third day of Rally-Raid Portugal tomorrow (Friday) with all three of its crews still running and still able to recover lost ground.
Determined to make up the deficit of 4m57s to the overnight leader following the time penalties incurred on Wednesday, Al-Attiyah and navigator Fabian Lurquin were among the early pacesetters in their Dacia Sandrider.
But a rare mistake left them stranded on a large rock at the 200-kilometre mark for several minutes before Gutiérrez and Moreno came to the rescue by towing them clear. The delay leaves them 10th overnight.
It was also a challenging second day for Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger, who are competing together for the first time on Rally-Raid Portugal. The Frenchmen parked up after 57 kilometres with a damaged upper rear right wishbone caused by clipping a tree in their efforts to close on the leaders.
Gutiérrez and Moreno helped them to replace the component before they could continue after a delay of approximately 10 minutes. From sixth position after Wednesday’s running, Loeb and Boulanger head into Friday in ninth overall.
After stopping twice to assist their team-mates, Gutiérrez and Moreno reached the overnight bivouac in Badajoz, a city in their native Spain, in 12th position after brake issues and a damaged tyre in the final 30 kilometres cost them further time.
Rally-Raid Portugal, the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, continues tomorrow (Friday) on a route based entirely in Spain before the event heads back to its host country for Saturday’s action prior to the final leg and finish in the capital Lisbon on Sunday.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « When we started we had a good pace and tried to control the speed and it was fantastic. Suddenly we catch the dust of [Juan Cruz] Yacopini. I told them we are behind for 30 seconds. He said he would try to move but he was not moving. We were stuck for a long time and then we make a small mistake in one corner. We were stuck for 13 or 14 minutes like this, but Cristina is coming and helped us to get out of this place. We then decided just to finish all the stage because it’s a tough day. I know we lose a lot of time but, okay, still we have three days left and we try to manage. »
CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « In the beginning it was not so bad, we were with a good rhythm. But when we saw Sébastien was stopped we help him because he didn’t have the part he needed so we give it to him. We also saw Nasser was stopped because he got stuck on a rock and also got a puncture, so we helped him also. After this I lose the brakes, I have a puncture, so it was not an easy day. But I’m happy because we helped the team, we are together for tomorrow and for sure we need to push tomorrow. I will be happy if we are more or less close. It’s very nice to see all the people cheering all the competitors and to see the bivouac in Badajoz in the middle of the city, so thanks to the organisation and all the people who made it possible because I know it’s not easy to make something like this. It’s amazing to feel all the people around us. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « The day started well but not for long. We went wide in a corner and hit a tree a little bit. It touched the wheel and broke the wishbone. At first, we thought it was nothing and we continue, but I saw my steering was bent and, after a few kilometres, it broke completely. We prepared everything and waited for Cristina because she had the spare part we didn’t have. We repaired quite quickly and from that point it was a good stage. »
PABLO MORENO (SPAIN), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « The feeling was good, we had some problems with the brakes so it was a hard day. We need to stop two times, once for Sébastien, once for Nasser. This is the focus now, we push, the team is in a good position and we work well together and we will see tomorrow. Today was real teamwork, we push a lot and we push a lot for Nasser to win the W2RC title. »
RALLY-RAID PORTUGAL STAGE 2 (SS3) ULTIMATE CATEGORY RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL) – Grândola-Badajoz
Stage distance: 429km Liaison distance: 226km Total distance: 655km
13th: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 3h16m46s
14th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 3h16m55s
16th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 3h18m08s
RALLY-RAID PORTUGAL PROVISIONAL ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 2 (UNOFFICIAL)
9th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +16m27s
10th: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +17m00s
12th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +19m22s
RALLY-RAID PORTUGAL: THE BIG NUMBER
655: The longest day of Rally-Raid Portugal covered a demanding distance of 655 kilometres.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 3 (SS4), SEPTEMBER 26
Stage 3 of Rally-Raid Portugal on Friday September 26 is all about Spain with the entire competitive route held within the country. Running initially on high-speed gravel roads with rocks, concrete bridges and gate posts among the hazards lining the route, the tempo slows before increasing in pace ahead of a very winding closing section.
Stage distance: 308.26km Liaison distance: 203km Total distance: 511.26km
Linda Hirvonen,