The beginning of Dakar 2025 is very cruel to the aspirations of many of the Spaniards in cars in Dakar 2025. After the abandonment of Laia Sanz At the end of stage 1 due to a displacement of only 2 millimeters in a bar of the safety arch of his car, stage 2, the terrifying 48-hour time trial, which nearly 1,000 kilometers will be completed in two days without the help of between, became a real nightmare and a total disaster for a large part of the Spanish pilots.
First it is Carlos Sainzoverturned on the first day of the 48-hour stage, yesterday, Sunday, although he managed to continue his march, losing 59 minutes and remaining 49 minutes behind the virtual leader of the race for not completing the second part of the stage 2 this Monday, with 341 km still to go Bisha. After trying to repair the Ford as best they could, with their own hands, in the small bivouac where they rested in the middle of the route (the penultimate of the 6 that existed), Carlos Sainz and his co-pilot Lucas Cruz exited to minimize damage then Al-Rajhi and Al-Attiyahthe two great beneficiaries of the first day of stage 2 where they took off while many of their opponents sank into trouble.
At kilometer 868, before reaching the finish line, Carlos Sainz was able to stop and endure the time lost the day before, leaving it at 1 hour and 1 minute lost for that moment on the best days, a Al-Rajhi who won stage 2 on a day where Toyota’s South African, Henk Lategan, led the cars. with a 2’45 margin in Al-Rajhi and 7’14” in Al-Attiyah, while Loeb kept his options intact, saved a stage 2 that started with many problems and managed to stay 18’46” from the overall lead.
The best Spaniard in the general classification is the Catalan co-pilot Armand Monleón, the navigator of Lucas Moraes to the official Toyota team. The crew formed by Armand and the Brazilian is in 9th position overall 20’57” from the leader. Right behind is the co-driver Dani Oliveras, in 10th position with his Toyota alongside Argentine Yacopini, 23’57” behind the leader Whiplash. ‘Kopi’ is further away Oriol Mena with his pilot Baciuska, who was 2 hours and 18 minutes away, with no chance of winning.
Cristina Gutiérrez left
We warned before this Dakar that the reliability of Ford and Dacia This is doubtful because their cars are new. And two Spaniards from both teams suffered with their mechanics and informed their choices.
the first, Cristina Gutierrez. The woman from Burgos was sacrificed at the start of stage 2 on Sunday, giving plenty of time to wait for her teammates Al-Attiyah and Loeb to help them in case they have problems. He helped Loeb, who had electrical setbacks and lost 1 hour 20 arriving at the camp where the other favorites rested.
He had to complete the remaining 341 km, but suffered a setback at kilometer 729 (out of a total of 967), late in stage 2, forcing him to retire. Cristina started the Dakar aiming for the Top-10 or even the Top-5 in her debut in the main category of the Dakar, something historic, but after she Top-5 scratch In stage 1, everything went wrong and he ended up in abandonment. The woman left from Burgos with a trackside assistance truck to the camp of Bisha. It will no longer count in the classification but Dacia will try to fix its car so that it can continue competing in the stages, although not counting in the general classification and no longer aspiring to be a ‘finisher’ in the first place. Dakar in the first class of vehicles.
Nani Roma, stop and have no options
Just when it seemed that the day would not go on for the Spaniards, Dakar increased its brutality, annihilating Nani Roma’s options. The Catalan already suffered a problem that activated the oil alarm on stage 1. He thought he would not make it to the end but he did it with a good position, but he warned that this setback was “serious” and that it had already. repeated in previous tests, so it may appear again.
He had problems again early in stage 2 but managed to minimize losses, placing 7th overall, 14 minutes behind the leader, with full options for victory. But during the second part of the 48-hour time trial period, the problem may recur. Nani Roma stood with his Ford with his co-pilot Àlex Haro. It happened at kilometer 766. It stopped at 8:48 am (local time, 6:48 am Spanish time) and the Ford assistance truck is currently waiting, having lost too much time.
Isidre Esteve, there are problems
But things took a turn for the worse, Isidre Esteve, who had already started the Dakar poorly due to having to ride with a fever in the first two stages, fighting with good weather despite this, was punished by the Dakar by of stopping at kilometer 713. .
Laia Sanz, Cristina Gutiérrez, Nani Roma and Isidre Esteve. The Dakar hit the Spaniards while Carlos Sainz continued to fight, knowing that the reliability of Dacia after the problems of Loeb and Cristina could also hit Al-Attiyah, or that the hardness of the route could reunite with racing due to Toyotas’ navigation or steering failures. Sainz does not consider it lost, although it is very complicated for him.
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.
