– All three MINI crews support each other
– Rebecca Busi finishes 15th in the Challenger classification
The legendary Dakar is already demanding a great deal from crews and teams in the early stages. After the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d of Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero was hit by a race truck yesterday, the mechanics worked tirelessly to get the car back into running condition. But even the crews themselves can rely on one another – unfortunately for an unpleasant reason: for Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel, today the dream of a top result came to an end.
After three punctures, they had to wait for Lionel and Lucie Baud in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, who provided one of their spare wheels. Later, however, the father-daughter duo also suffered another puncture. As a result, De Mévius and Baumel returned the previously received wheel. They continued as best they could until Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d caught up. They had completed the stage without a puncture and handed over one of their unused spare wheels.
The Baud family reached the finish in 46th place but had to wait for their teammates after suffering yet another puncture. Gameiro was able to assist – but Lionel and Lucie Baud checked in too late and received a 34-minute penalty. This dropped them to 96th in the stage results and pushed them back to 46th overall. The all-female duo Gameiro/Romero is satisfied with 76th place – they had started only from 110th after yesterday’s incident. De Mévius and Baumel finished 143rd and slip to 60th overall.
Busi and Lafuente back at the front
After two difficult days, Rebecca Busi and Sergio Lafuente finally completed a strong stage. Starting from 172nd position, they reached the finish in 110th place – despite a puncture. This result secured them 15th place in the Challenger classification with the X-raid Fenic.
Tomorrow brings the next major challenge: the first marathon stage of this year’s Dakar. After the 417-kilometre special stage, the crews will be completely on their own and must service their cars without assistance. No infrastructure will be available in the marathon bivouac.
Statements
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): „It was a very difficult day, and I think we lost the Dakar today. We had punctures and made several mistakes. We then had to wait for Lionel Baud, who gave us one of his tires. But he also had a puncture later, so we gave it back. We continued as best we could. In the end, Maria gave us another wheel so we could finish the last kilometres.“
Maria Gameiro (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « It was a tough day, but at least we had fun. The dust was the biggest issue – for everyone. We started from far behind. Even when the car ahead was far away, we were stuck in the Fesh Fesh dust and couldn’t activate the Sentinel because of the distance. Around kilometre 16, we almost collided with another vehicle but managed to avoid it. We didn’t want to repeat that experience, so we drove more cautiously. That helped us avoid punctures – and allowed us to assist Guillaume and Lionel later.“
Rebecca Busi (X-raid Fenic): « We started from 179th place due to a mechanical issue on the previous stage. Still, we made up 69 positions today. It was a very tough stage: extremely bumpy terrain with many trial-like sections. We even had a puncture, but despite everything we delivered a solid and smart performance. Lots of dust… but we still made it to the finish before dark.“
Result SS3
1. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Ford – 4h 04m 32s
2. M. Prokop / V. Chytka – Ford – 4h 06m 59s
3. G. Botterill / O. Mena – Toyota – 4h 09m 55s
4. L. Moraes / D. Zenz – Dacia – 4h 10m 18s
5. C. Gutierrrez / P. Moreno – Dacia – 4h 10m 29s…
76. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 5h 08m 54s…
96. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 5h 22m 07s…
110. R. Busi / S. Lafuente – X-raid Fenic – 5h 35m 06s…
142. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 6h 29m 30s
Overall standings
1. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Ford – 11h 27m 20s
2. M. Prokop / V. Chytka – Ford – 11h 27m 46s
3. M Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 11h 28m 28s
4. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Ford – 11h 30m 54s
5. N. Roma / A. Haro – Ford – 11h 31m 22s…
46. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 13h 10m 27s…
60. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 13h 42m 56s…
79. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 14h 25m 54s…
153. R. Busi / S. Lafuente – X-raid Fenic – 25h 45m 41s
Stefanie Szlapka,