“We normally have three fans, we lost the first one at one pointexplained the Alsatian from the Bisha desert. We lost the fan before, it started to heat up and it degraded the power. We managed to drag ourselves like that then we lost a second fan so it was really heating up. We stopped on each dune, waiting for it to cool down so we could gain momentum and climb the next one. There really was a big electronic bug. Once again, the problems fell on me. I am definitely cursed.”
Even if there are still many kilometers to swallow between now and the final finish in Shubaytah and the game is far from being made in a Dakar 2025 which promises to be as indecisive as it is strategic, it is never good to lose more than 30 minutes on the leading group in which we find one of Loeb’s teammates, the formidable Nasser Al-Attiyah.
gullMy navigator Pablo Moreno is the king of resourcefulness and got Seb and Fabian’s car back into working order.
In the stables, having a crew able to come to the aid of the team captains will be crucial in the coming days. Loeb and Lurquin are thus lucky in their misfortune in having been able to count on the perhaps saving help of the third Dacia driven by the female Cristina Gutiérrez.
“When Seb and Fabian had problems, we stopped to help them, explains the Spaniard. Fortunately, my navigator Pablo Moreno is the king of resourcefulness, a real MacGyver! He managed to get their car back into working order. We stopped three times to repair and casually, they are very happy because they managed to reach the penultimate bivouac like us, and this Monday they should leave in principle without problem. They certainly lost time, but not that much.”
If Loeb and Lurquin manage to get back to the top, we will owe a big debt at Dacia to Mr. Moreno.
