A year after a discreet discovery of rally-raid in order to better understand the vicissitudes of this discipline that it had never known before, M-Sport returns with an intimidating strike force. Four factory Raptor T1+s, that’s one more than at Dacia and double the quota of Toyotas entered by Gazoo Racing (the other Hilux being entered by Overdrive or TGR South Africa). The barnum requires around sixty people, but some of them risk finding themselves unemployed by the final arrival in Shubaytah, Friday January 17. The reason? The beautiful and melodious blue machines are deficient!
Star of the brand’s arena at the Oval, Carlos Sainz has already ruined all his chances of victory during the 48 Hours Chrono special on Sunday. The Madrilenian performed a sun from the front at the top of a dune, in a maneuver similar to the accident which forced him to retire from Audi in 2023. The title holder was put back on “wheels” by his American teammate Mitch Guthrie, a product of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team, before stopping seven times. The next day, tired from a light rest, he had difficulty finding his way in the desert and got lost. The image of the Ford launched at 180 km/h (speed limited by the regulations), with its driver forced to drive with one hand and protect himself from the sun with the other, however, says a lot about the determination of the Matador. “Everything went wrong. I want to recover emotionally and physically, I have pain in one shoulder”, whispered the one who will celebrate his 63rd birthday in April. The fiery Sainz offside (26e at 1:30), hopes then rested on his compatriot Nani Roma.
Funny setup for Carlos Sainz… © Frédéric Le Floc’h / DPPI
Ekström is an optimist
One of the three athletes who won the Dakar on two (2004) and four (2014) wheels was responsible for developing the vehicle, and his reputation as a careful mechanical pilot is well established. However, he too got entangled during the 48 Hours Chrono. Halfway through the stage, Sunday evening, the tall Catalan (1.90 meters) already anticipated the ordeal of the next day. “We had a flat tire twice, the air jack (pneumatic jack. Ed.) no longer works, I had to lift the car manually (she weighs 2,010 kg) and the V8 engine misfires (when switched on. Editor’s note)I don’t know why. I knew that by committing to a new program and with a car competing in its first Dakar, there would be teething problems. But as much…”
-Roma was right to be concerned. Monday morning, a new mechanical problem forced him to return directly to the bivouac while being pulled by a rope by his assistance truck, which automatically penalized him by several hours. American Mitch Guthrie (8e at 23 minutes), who is discovering the premier category, has no other objective than to gain experience and play water carrier for the only man almost unscathed, Mattias Ekström. The Swede, navigated by Emil Bergkvist since his rally-raid debut in 2021, did not make any driving mistakes, and his Ford held up at the end of these three tough opening specials. He showed up Monday evening at 4e overall place, just 13 minutes from leader Henk Lategan (Toyota, see elsewhere). “We lost time finding our way, which allowed a group of 4x4s to overtake us. Thrown back into the dust, we landed on top of a dune, and allowed ourselves a few extra minutes. » Small gaps which do not affect the morale of the double DTM champion. “The objective this year remains victory. » Everything remains possible.
READ ALSO > Carlos Sainz, a retirement due above all to the FIA regulations
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