Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz saved the tenth stage of the Dakar, a complete trap where Sebastien Loeb He tested them again and the holes already gained at km 248 relegated them to more than 16 minutes and the difference in the general classification was reduced to only 4’13” between the Spanish and the French. Thanks to his teammate Ekstrom, who gave him a pair of tires, he not only managed to finish the stage after three punctures but also passed the nine-time world rally champion who in turn punctured in the last stage and now in the overall standings there is 13’22” separating them. And that’s just the appetizer, this Thursday another 420 kilometers of rock await them, once they cut the 60 kilometer special.
The invaluable help of the other two Audis, Ekstrom and Peterhansel, was key and reaching the end of the special Carlos Sainz acknowledged on the microphone of Paco Grande (RTVE) that “we are still alive. Thanks to Matthias (Ekstrom ), which left me with two wheels, otherwise impossible”.
It became a phase of “lots of rocks, rocks, rocks… Eventually we saw Loeb stop, we continued, but a puncture, another puncture and another puncture slowly. We don’t know what to do to prevent holes! It was a complicated stage and in the end we lost by seven minutes. “We’re still alive.”
And after the first plate of rocks will be a second plate of rocks this Thursday on stage 11 between Al Ula and Yanbu. “I’d rather be 13 minutes ahead than 13 behind, but obviously anything can happen with these tires, the truth is they puncture very easily”
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.
