With a total distance of roughly 830 kilometres, the leg to Wadi ad Dawasir was the longest of the 2022 Dakar. The 400-kilometre special stage was a mixture of sand, dunes and fast sections. Jakub “Kuba” Przygonski (POL) and Timo Gottschalk (GER) finished eighth in the MINI JCW Buggy and are now fourth in the overall standings. Sebastian Halpern and Bernardo “Ronnie” Graue (both ARG) ended the stage in 17th place in their MINI JCW Buggy, just ahead of Vaidotas Zala (LTU) and Paulo Fiuza (POR) in a MINI JCW Rally.
Przygonski, who was 14th onto the stage, clocked top-ten times from the word go. Unlike his rivals, he came through the stage without any issues or mistakes, which allowed him to take eighth place.
Kuba Przygonski: “The first 200 kilometres consisted solely of sand and dunes. As the sand was very soft, you really had to take care not to get stuck. However, we came through it well. The final 200 kilometres were much faster. I am happy with our day – we avoided making any mistakes and will now try to maintain this rhythm.”
MINI JCW Buggy driver Halpern may have struggled a little with the soft sand in the dunes today, but he still came through the 400-kilometre stage without any major issues. He reached the finish line in 18th place and remains ninth overall.
Sebastian Halpern: “That was a very long stage with difficult navigation again, but Ronnie did a very good job. However, we had problems in the dunes, as the sand is very soft. They are not so easy in a buggy. Sometimes we needed a couple of attempts to get over a dune. However, we are still in the top ten.”
Tomorrow, the teams can recover a little after today’s long leg. The drivers, on the other hand, must tackle a 287-kilometre loop around the bivouac in Wadi ad Dawasir. For the first time, sand will play no role. Instead, they will be faced by mountains and canyons.
Dakar Rally – Result of SS8
1. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Audi – 3h 43m 21s
2. S. Peterhansel / E. Boulanger – Audi – 3h 44m 10s
3. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – BRX – 3h 46m 29s
4. C. Sainz / L. Cruz – Audi – 3h 46m 32s
5. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 3h 46m 41s
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8. J. Przygonski / T. Gottschalk – MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 51m 32s
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18. S. Halpern / B. Graue – MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 03m 48s
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20. V. Zala / P. Fiuza – MINI JCW Rally – 4h 05m 37s
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29. L. Sanz / M. Gerini – MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 13m 08s
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31. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 21m 50s
Overall standings after SS8
1. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel – Toyota – 27h 45m 52s
2. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – BRX – 28h 23m 50s
3. Y. Al-Rajhi / M. Orr – Toyota – 28h 39m 05s
4. J. Przygonski / T. Gottschalk – MINI JCW Buggy – 29h 13m 58s
5. O. Terranova / D. Oliveras – BRX – 29h 17m 31s
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9. S. Halpern / B. Graue – MINI JCW Buggy – 29h 54m 34s
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12. V. Zala / P. Fiuza – MINI JCW Rally – 30h 26m 50s
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22. L. Sanz / M. Gerini – MINI ALL4 Racing – 32h 49m 33s
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