In the Light Prototype, Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist (Yamaha YXZ1000R-Yamaha Powered by X-Raid Team) have not made it to the Ha’il bivouac at the time of writing. The Swedish duo were in trouble halfway through the special. On the other hand, Camelia Liparoti and Annett Fischer (Yamaha YXZ1000R-Yamaha Powered by X-Raid Team) finished 9th on the stage 44’33 minutes behind today’s leader Seth Quintero.
In the provisional, Camelia Liparoti and Annett Fischer are in 6th position at 3h51 from the head of the race.
Camelia Liparoti: « Today was a strange day. At the beginning everything went smoothly, but then we had a few problems with navigation and concentration. But we got through. We are very sorry for Mattias, but this is how he really gets to know the Dakar. That is what happened to all of us at the beginning. Now I’m looking forward to the rest day! »
Mattias Ekström: « That was the longest stage of my life – about eight hours. Many thanks to our mechanics in the race truck who helped us to fix the vehicle. The stage itself was one of the best of my life and we were going fast. But in the middle, on a long straight, I thought we had a flat tyre at first, but then found out that a part of the front suspension was broken. I cannot say exactly how that happened. But that is part of the learning process. »
T3.1 light prototypes – result of SS6
1. S. Quintero (USA) / D. Zenz (GER) – OT3 – 4h 20m 23s
2. J. Bergounhe (FRA) / J. Brucy (FRA) – PH-Sport – 4h 47m 44s
3. J. Machacek (CZE) / P. Vyoral (CZE) – Can-Am – 4h 54m 01s
4. J.-L. Pisson (FRA) / V. Sarreaud (FRA) – PH-Sport – 4h 56m 47s
5. C. Gutierrez (ESP) / F. Cazalet (FRA) – OT3 – 4h 57m 05s…
9. C. Liparoti (ITA) / A. Fischer (GER) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 5h 04m 55s…
14. M. Ekström (SWE) / E. Bergkvist (SWE) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 8h 50m 43s…
T3.1 light prototypes – overall standings after SS6
1. S. Quintero (USA) / D. Zenz (GER) – OT3 – 27h 12m 55s
2. C. Gutierrez (ESP) / F. Cazalet (FRA) – OT3 – 29h 09m 49s
3. J.-L. Pisson (FRA) / V. Sarreaud (FRA) – PH-Sport – 29h 49m 32s
4. L. Baud (FRA) / L. Minaudier (FRA) – PH-Sport – 30h 36m 32s
5. J. Machacek (CZE) / P. Vyoral (CZE) – Can-Am – 30h 37m 37s
6. C. Liparoti (ITA) / A. Fischer (GER) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 31h 04m 39s…
8. M. Ekström (SWE) / E. Bergkvist (SWE) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 33h 33m 06s…