– Baud ends first week satisfied
– Tomorrow: well-deserved rest day
Three challenging days lie behind the X-raid crews. Directly after the marathon stage, today came the longest stage of the Dakar. Over 900 kilometers — including 326 km against the clock — the participants covered the route from Hail to Riyadh. There, they will enjoy the well-deserved rest day tomorrow. Lionel and Lucie Baud in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d handled the test very well and secured 34th place. The MINI JCW Rally 3.0i crew Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel finished 47th. Teammates Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero ended the day in 63rd place. Rebecca Busi and Sergio Lafuente are still on the course in the X-raid Fenic.
The father-daughter duo Baud draw a positive conclusion after the first week of Dakar. They completed the special stage in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d without problems and mastered the dunes confidently. However, a five-minute time penalty cost them some positions. In the overall standings, they still made a significant jump forward and now sit in 38th place.
For De Mévius and Baumel, the bad luck continues. Shortly after the start, they had to stop again and lost about 30 minutes. After that, the stage went without further incidents. With the day’s result in 47th place, they now rank 70th overall.
Tomorrow, the rest day in Riyadh awaits. For the drivers, a day to catch their breath — for the mechanics, a day full of work. They will almost completely dismantle the vehicles to prepare them for the challenges of the second week.
Statements
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « A very, very good day for us. The MINI ran perfectly. Unfortunately, we got a five-minute time penalty and lost some positions because of that. But we are still satisfied. »
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): « It was not the best week. It started well, but we had many problems. Today we had to stop again and lost about 30 minutes — not an ideal way to finish the first week. Now we are resetting for the second week. »
Result SS6
1. N. Al-Attyiah / F. Lurquin – Dacia – 3h 38m 28s
2. S. Loeb / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 3h 41m 26s
3. S. Quintero / A. Short – Toyota – 3h 41m 47s
4. T. Price / A. Monleon – Toyota – 3h 42m 47s
5. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – Toyota – 3h 43m 24s…
34. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 03m 17s…
47. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 12m 56s…
63. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 24m 36s…
Overall standings
1. N. Al-Attyiah / F. Lurquin – Dacia – 24h 18m 29s
2. H. Lategan / B. Cimmungs – Toyota – 24h 24m 39s
3. N. Roma / A. Haro – Ford – 24h 27m 42s
4. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Ford – 24h 30m 18s
5. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 24h 30m 40s…
38. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 28h 03m 15s…
60. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 29h 41m 09s…
70. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 30h 32m 06s…