After the X-raid crews had recovered a little from the exertions of the first Dakar week on yesterday’s rest day, they started the seventh stage today. Vaidotas Zala and Paulo Fiuza finished the 483-kilometre stage in seventh place in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. Krzysztof Holowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja finished 19th in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. The X-raid 1000R Turbo side-by-side crew Annett Quandt / Annie Seel finished the day in 24th position.
Their team-mates Pál Lónyai and Filippo Ippolito abandoned the stage early. Lónyai was still struggling with the consequences of his collision on the sixth stage. He therefore decided to head for the bivouac in Al Duwadimi early.
Zala and Fiuza started the stage in 20th place and were travelling fast. Halfway through the stage, their time was in the top 10, and as they did not make any navigational errors, they secured seventh place.
The Dakar route now takes the participants back to the Red Sea. Tomorrow they will continue northwards from Al Duwadimi to Hail. A total of 778 kilometres are on the agenda – 458 km of which the crews will complete against the clock. Sand and dunes await the participants at the start. The end of the stage will be on gravel roads.
Quotes from the drivers
Vaidotas Zala (#214 MINI JCW Rally Plus):
“Another stage with tricky navigation. Paulo did a good job. Our starting position was good, but we spent the last 70 kilometres in the dust of two Toyotas. That was very frustrating. But on the whole, we’re just driving and enjoying the MINI and the stage. We still have five days to go!”
Dakar 2024 – result SS7 (Ultimate-class)
1. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – Prodrive – 4h 56m 39s
2. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 5h 03m 45s
3. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel – Prodrive – 5h 06m 26s
4. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Audi – 5h 07m 10s
5. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – Toyota – 5h 07m 16s
…
7. V. Zala / P. Fiuza – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 5h 09m 36s
…
20. K. Holowczyc / L. Kurzeja – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 5h 39m 50s
Overall standings (Ultimate-class)
1. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Audi – 30h 06m 42s
2. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – Prodrive – 30h 25m 42s
3. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 31h 07m 17s
4. G. de Mevius / X. Panseri – Toyota – 31h 37m 32s
5. G. de Villiers / D. Murphy – Toyota – 31h 46m 49s
…
40. V. Zala / P. Fiuza – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 84h 40m 47s
…
43. K. Holowczyc / L. Kurzeja – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 117h 16m 15s
Dakar 2024 result SS7 (Challenger-class)
1. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Taurus – 5h 35m 09s
2. R. Baciuska / O. Vidal – Can-Am – 5h 40m 47s
3. S. Alsaif / N. Alkuwari – OT3 – 5h 43m 47s
4. C. Gutierrez / P. Moreno – Taurus – 5h 44m 29s
5. F. Lopez / J. Latrach – Can-Am – 5h 50m 51s
…
24. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid 1000R Turbo – 8h 34m 22s
Overall standings (Challenger-class)
1. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Taurus – 33h 29m 29s
2. C. Gutierrez / P. Moreno – Taurus – 34h 03m 05s
3. F. Lopez / J. Latrach – Can-Am – 34h 09m 45s
4. A. Jones / G. Gugelmin – Can-Am – 34h 49m 21s
5. R. Baciuska / O. Vidal – Can-Am – 34h 53m 43s
…
18. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid 1000R Turbo – 51h 15m 46s
