After yesterday’s semi-marathon stage, the drivers returned to their teams in Riyadh with today’s eighth stage. Jakub “Kuba” Przygonski and Armand Monleon finished the day in fifth place in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. Sebastian Halpern and Bernardo “Ronnie” Graue finish 13th in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. The two MINI JCW Buggy crews Khalid Al-Qassimi / Ola Floene and Denis Krotov / Konstantin Zhiltsov finished 41st and 42th respectively.
Today’s stage again had an extreme mixture to offer. At the beginning the track was very stony. On these passages Halpern was a bit too cautious in order not to risk a puncture. He got through without any problems, but lost time. Later, the pilots went into the dunes.
Kuba Przygonski: “We had a good rhythm from the beginning today. That’s why we were able to accelerate from the start. The first part was very stony. After that we went into the dunes. As they were very wet, they were not easy to master. The wet sand slows the car down a lot.”
Sebastian Halpern: “This was a fast stage with many stones and varied navigation. In addition, there were some very soft dunes. Maybe we were a bit too careful not to break anything. I am happy that we reached the rest day.”
Tomorrow, the rest day in Riyadh is on the agenda. The mechanics will then check the vehicles through completely to make them fit for the second part of the Dakar 2023. The drivers will take the opportunity to sleep in. Later, there will be briefings with the engineers and interviews with the press.
Dakar Rally – result SS8
1. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – BRX – 3h 34m 24s
2. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel – Toyota – 3h 36m 35s
3. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Audi – 3h 37m 55s
4. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 3h 39m 17s
5. J. Przygonski / A. Monleon – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 3h 44m 43s
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13. S. Halpern / B. Graue – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 3h 54m 49s
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41. Sh. K. Al-Qassimi / O. Floene – MINI JCW Buggy – 5h 23m 44s
42. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Buggy – 5h 38m 00s
Overall standings after SS8
1. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel – Toyota – 31h 02m 58s
2. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 32h 06m 34s
3. L. Moraes / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 32h 23m 20s
4. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – BRX – 32h 55m 04s
5. G. de Villiers / D. Murphy – Toyota – 33h 07m 18s
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14. S. Halpern / B. Graue – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 35h 05m 23s
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19. Sh. K. Al-Qassimi / O. Floene – MINI JCW Buggy – 36h 34m 18s
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25. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Buggy – 37h 04m 53s
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28+. J. Przygonski / A. Monleon – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 38h 19m 07s
