The team M-Sport Ford has been working all day today scrutinizing the two Ford Ranger T1+ facing the Dakar 2024, a race that started on the 5th and will end on Friday the 19th. Nani Roma and Alex Haro They finished the first week of racing yesterday, having achieved their best part of the whole rally, 11th position, and that in the terrible 48-hour stage that passed through the vast desert called “Empty Quarter”which is located in the southeast of the Arabian country, where the dunes and sand dunes are the only major obstacle that has been overcome for almost 600 km.
No serious problems, Rome-Haro They had to deal with the various holes that all the teams experienced to a greater or lesser extent throughout the rally, increasing their speed when the race became tighter. They are currently classified in 12th position, less than 9 minutes from the top ten, a goal that should from now on be the leaders of M-Sport Ford.
“A very difficult 48 hour period”
Nani Roma talks about the 48-hour period, feared by all and as difficult as can be expected. Many teams have lost hope, but not Nani Roma and Alex Haro. The M-Sport Ford team had the best partial performance of the entire race: “Very difficult, the concern that we all have about the Empty Quarter has been established, clearly the most difficult day we have done in Arabia. All the sand, 8 hours by car there is always a very high concentration in the sands other -different between soft and more consistent, which tests our ability to know how to move forward without getting stuck.
Balance of the first week
Nani also reviews his overall performance: “It has been a hard first week, very complicated, we already expected it to be so these last two days, the truth is, we didn’t think it would be this difficult. In any case, in the middle of this difficulty we had good results, I’m happy because the Ranger worked well. Small things happened to us but everything was solved, having a problem is something that no one is immune to, the important thing is not to stop on the path, not to make mistakes and move forward, always move forward.”
”Alex and I both performed at the expected level, I am happy with our performance as a team. The various punctures we experienced broke our rhythm, but that’s something you already have, everyone has a puncture at some point. The assessment I am making is positive, we are strong, our car is showing the resistance we already know and now we have to do another six days without problems or errors. We want to reach the goal, the experience we get here is important for the future.”
Rest day
For Nani, “the rest day in Riyadh is important for everyone, it is convenient for us to stop for a while, relax, plan and prepare. The people from M-Sport will check our Ranger and our colleague all day, so that on Sunday we can get back on track for the second week which is not going to be any easier. Everything will be checked and many things will be changed: differentials, gearboxes, ball joints, transmissions, brakes, suspension… it will be a top service, it will be a very fast and difficult Dakar for mechanics.
This Sunday, stage 7
This Sunday, the Ryad–Al Duwadimi stage, with a 483 km special, is revealed by tracks in unsightly landscapes and constant changes of course, ending with a set of dunes that can test the most has experience. In the following days, the tracks will dominate a vast and rocky desert, directing the runners towards the north, with navigation sometimes complicated and rocky plateaus where a hole can appear unexpectedly.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
