Bad luck for Loprais Tatra team on Dakar 2017
The third stage is over. Nothing pleasant really. We started from the 12th position, so we could expect a lot of dust and overtaking. We were quite successful in the first part of the measured section, and we finished in fourth place. We suffered through the connecting stretch of the stage approximately 500 km long. I do not like it, as one drops out of the race rhythm, but nothing can be done about it. We succeeded in the second part of the measured trial, we were achieving stable times, and it seemed that we would improve our tomorrow’s starting position. We were in fifth place at the last WP, with the loss of around 4 minutes to the first truck. But in the last part, about 20 km before the finish, we encountered a technical problem. Servo pump. It was exchanged recently. What can I say. We lost half an hour, dropped down to 17th place in the stage and overall, we are in 13th place. We go on!
Tomorrow the stage will take us from SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY to TUPIZA. This fourth stage measuring 521 km, of which 416 km will be a speed trial, will be the same for all categories and includes crossing the border from Argentina to Bolivia. We will drive in the mountains and the organizer promises dune fields in the end. The first truck will depart at 14.54 CET.
Think of us tomorrow too! Greetings from Aleš Loprais
