Sainz no longer believes it: “Everything went wrong”

Title holder on the Dakar, Carlos Sainz believes he has already lost any chance of winning this year. The Spanish driver experienced a 48 hour stage which turned into a disaster on Sunday and Monday, the problems continuing to accumulate since the accident which occurred after 300 km.

On Sunday morning, Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz found themselves on the roof. Although they were able to restart after around twenty minutes of stopping, thanks to the help of their teammate Mitch Guthrie, their Ford Raptor paid the price for this antics.

The crew did what they could with a vehicle that was badly damaged and missing several parts, both front and rear. To make matters worse, navigation problems and a puncture caused them to lose even more time this Monday in the last part of this second stage. The two men are now in 20th place in the general classification, 1h30 behind leader Henk Lategan.

“The bottom line is that everything went wrong”deplores Carlos Sainz after his return to the Bisha bivouac. “Yesterday we had an accident and we lost a lot of time. Then we got lost in one place, then this morning we had another puncture, and we lost a lot of time in a place where we couldn't couldn't find our way.”

“It's two days to forget, two very difficult days to accept, just like that, at the start of the rally, but that's how it is and now we have to move forward, try to help the team and 'learn as much as possible.'

Despite a Dakar that is still long, with around ten stages to complete before the finish scheduled for Friday January 17, El Matador believes that he is out of the race for the final victory.

“We knew that this 48-hour special was going to be decisive”he emphasizes. “It was for us, obviously, and for others too, but that's how it is. It was our turn, and maybe this start of the rally was very hard.”

“I want to recover, both emotionally and physically, and try to help the team. And if I can win a stage, that will be even better. My back hurts a little, it's a little painful, but I Don't think it's abnormal, it's just a fluke.”

Until then, the Ford M-Sport team's best chances now rest on the shoulders of Mattias Ekström. The Swede occupies fifth place in the general classification this Monday, 13'16 behind the leader. As for Nani Roma, he found himself stuck in a dune and had to give up on finishing the special, returning to the bivouac with the help of assistance.

Comments collected by Mario Galán