Five and a half hours of non-stop racing through massive dunes. Tim and Tom Coronel have completed the toughest stage of their Dakar so far. The second day of the marathon stage took the brothers through spectacular dune landscapes toward Bisha, where they finished 37th, over 44 minutes behind the stage winner. « This was the toughest we’ve had in the entire rally, » says Tom. « But it was great, this is what we do it all for. »
The 368-kilometer special was packed with towering dunes usually only found in the Empty Quarter. « These were massive, Empty Quarter-level dunes! » Tom says enthusiastically. « Everyone said we’d miss the Empty Quarter, but they had a few of those here too. »
Tim agrees: « This was a beautiful stage. Really varied with huge dunes, then those little dunes that were all cut short. Straight down, boom boom. We were constantly challenged to keep our speed in check. »
« Just go for it! »
The Century CR7 T1+ proved its worth in the steep dunes. « Even some really tall ones. I’d just say, ‘Go for it, just hit it!’ The car can handle it, and Tim just rammed it up there. It went great, » says Tom. « We hit all the waypoints. »
Along the way, they saw plenty of trouble. « We saw a Defender stuck in a hole, it’ll probably still be there tomorrow, » says Tom. Gert Huzink also flipped his truck. « We saw people stuck everywhere in the dunes, so we made sure we didn’t run into trouble ourselves. And we succeeded, » says Tim.
Neckbreakers and nose landings
The combination of high dunes and steep descents was intense. « There were also long stretches of neckbreakers. Super steep drops. Once, I even heard my neck go crack crack, » says Tom. « We landed on the nose twice, like a real ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ move. A bit too much speed, but hey, it is what it is. »
The physical strain was immense. « Five and a half hours of non-stop roaring, reacting, racing. I really feel it, » says Tom.
Race across plateaus
The end of the stage brought relief. « At the end, it was a race across plateaus with waypoints. That went really well, » says Tom. « We had no one in front of us, so we did it all ourselves. »
Tim enjoyed the speed at the end. « Luckily, there was still plenty of speed at the end. It was Dakar-worthy, everything was in there. One of the toughest so far and also the longest in terms of driving time. The car’s still running great, Tom’s navigation was spot on, everything was good. »
Tom is satisfied: « At the beginning, we had to overtake a few people, but after that, it was all perfect. I think this is the pace we can safely and steadily maintain. »
Tomorrow to Al Henakiyah
After the marathon stage with the sparse refuge camp, Tim and Tom are back with the team today and have technical support again. The 11th stage goes from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, featuring another diverse route through varied terrain. Many different paths with intersections and branches create a maze. Concentration will be a key factor on the 346-kilometer stage.