Today’s stage around Al Duwadimi was particularly tricky, especially for the vehicles starting at the front. The motorcycles were on a separate route, leaving no tracks for the car crews to follow. Additionally, an error in the roadbook caused confusion and chaos. Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov finished stage 7 in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0i in 12th place. Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel reached 14th place in the same vehicle. The father-daughter duo Lionel and Lucie Baud finished 27th in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, followed by Vladas Jurkevicius and Aisvydas Paliukenas (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i) in 29th, and João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d) in 31st.
Opening a Dakar stage is a challenging task on its own. But without the guiding tracks left by motorcycles, it becomes even more difficult—especially since competitors starting further back can use the tracks of earlier vehicles for navigation. At kilometer 158, a roadbook error caused additional complications: the indicated compass bearing of 103 degrees should have been 203 degrees. This mistake left several drivers, including De Mévius and Ferreira, utterly confused. To ensure fair conditions, the 20 kilometers before and after this point were neutralized to balance out extreme time losses or gains.
Despite having their lost time credited back, De Mévius and Ferreira still suffered from the navigational chaos. They were forced to drive in the dust of other vehicles and lost additional time during overtaking maneuvers.
In the overall standings, Ferreira and Palmeiro managed to hold on to ninth place. De Mévius and Baumel made progress toward the Top 10, now sitting in 15th place. Lionel and Lucie Baud improved to 24th overall.
Challenger category
Annett Quandt and Annie Seel reached the finish line today in daylight after a nighttime drive yesterday. In their X-raid Fenic, they completed stage 7 in 20th place in the Challenger category. This result moved them up to 12th place in the overall Challenger standings. Maria Gameiro and José Marques, in the second X-raid Fenic, finished in 35th place.
What’s next:
Stage 8 will take participants to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. Once again, motorcycles and cars will follow separate routes.
Quotes from the team
Guillaume de Mévius (#222 MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “It was a beautiful but tough stage. João, Nasser, and I opened the stage together but got lost. At one point, we had to drive eight kilometers back to the previous waypoint. More and more cars arrived, and it turned into chaos. In the end, we found out it was a roadbook error. Together with the helicopter and other vehicles, we managed to find the correct route.”
João Ferreira (#240 MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): “Navigation was really challenging today. We started second and later overtook Guillaume after he had a flat tire. From then on, we were opening the stage. That was a new experience for me and not easy. Then came the navigation chaos, and we lost about 20 minutes due to an issue. Other than that, it went okay. Not a perfect day, but we made it through.”
Annett Quandt (#315 X-raid Fenic): “It was a tough day. Lots of big rocks and fesh-fesh again. We spent most of the time driving in dust. Navigation was tricky, and we got a bit lost, which meant we had to overtake the same vehicles again. It was a tough stage for the car—we damaged part of the suspension. Although we made it to the finish, we had to make quick repairs to stay within the time limit for the liaison.”
Result stage7
1. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 4h 01m 49s
2. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 4h 09m 30s
3. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Ford – 4h 11m 17s
4. N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 4h 13m 04s
5. S. Quintero / D. Zent – Toyota -4h 13m 27s
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12. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 16m 13s
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14. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 20m 37s
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27. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 30m 25s
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29. V. Jurkevicius / A. Paliukenas – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 32m 36s
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31. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 32m 44s
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80. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid Fenic – 5h 08m 51s
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118. M. Gameiro / J. Marques – X-raid Fenic – 6h 20m 58s
Overall standings
1. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 37h 13m 08s
2. Y. Al-Rajhi / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 37h 13m 29s
3. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 37h 23m 33s
4. N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 37h 35m 05s
5. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Ford – 37h 53m 09s
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9. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 39h 11m 33s
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15. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 40h 55m 56s
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24. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 42h 22m 38s
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63. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid Fenic – 51h 07m 00s
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106. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 84h 45m 45s
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111. M. Gameiro / J. Marques – X-raid Fenic – 99h 57m 31s
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126. V. Jurkevicius / A. Paliukenas – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 162h 49m 26s