Time loss Nasser searching waypoint

This was not good news for Nasser Al-Attiyah, because he had lost time in the first part of the day searcing for the waypoint, which he couldn’t make up for in the second part. As a result, the Qatari lost more than 17 minutes to the leader in the general standings, while the number three behind him came much closer. For Giniel de Villiers however it wasn’t bad at all, the South African had entered the neutralization with a third time and thus took his second podium place of 2020, after his stage win on Day 2.

Strong performance Bernhard ten Brinke

It was also a good day for Bernhard ten Brinke, with a sixth place the Dutchman again scored a solid Top 10 result. Benrhard said that the day had gone flawlessly, both in terms of driving and navigation his experience and that of navigator Tom Colsoul proved very useful. “We have been in the area before and therefore knew which dunes we could encounter here, with considerable step-downs, so we drove quite conservatively. We’re only eying the final rankings now, I have put it out of my mind to ride in a Top 3 or Top 5 stage ”.

Roll over Fernando Alonso

Dakar-rookie Fernando Alonso didn’t have such a good time today. The Spanish driver arrived a bit too fast at such a dangerous dune top, after which he discovered too late that there was a big step-down behind. His Toyota rolled sideways, but ended up nicely on the wheels. At first it seemed that this crash would not cost him much time, but he finally arrived quite late, driving without a windscreen.

Also at Kees Koolen and Jurgen van den Goorbergh today things didn't go smooth. Yesterday they were able to solve problems with the CVT drive of the CanAm side-by-side, but today they took a long time to complete the stage, losing almost two hours early in the stage. Yesterday in the bivouac they were in for another surprise, the organization seemed to have banned their wheel size of 15 inches. Because many participants were also on 15 ", the mandatory 14 inch wheels were suddenly very popular. Yet they managed to score a set off an SSV that abandoned the rally, although that meant their tires now have to come in that other size.

Thing at the Coronel twins today didn’t not go as smoothly as they did last week. After a crash they lost the rear body parts of the Jefferies buggy, leaving the giant Chevrolet engine completely out in the open. There seemed to be little to worry about, although the timing in the marathon stage is of course not ideal, tonight all repairs must be made by Tim & Tom himself.

Great Performance hybrid Riwald truck

For Gert Huzink and Rob Buursen, things today went even better in the Reanult Hybrid truck as yesterday. Due to the lack of a technician, the duo must ensure that they do not get into trouble and apparently do so by completing the stages as quickly as possible. After a great fifth place yesterday, they scored even better today with a fourth place at the finish. Riwald team-mate Pascal de Baar also had a great day with a tenth place, while Martin van de Brink seems to have forgotten the nightly adventures of Day 8, he came in nicely as fifteenth today. The 'fast assistance' of Ed Wigman is also unstoppable, with a 23rd place he continues to participate in the rally, while his crew also helps many other participants out of trouble on a daily basis