Instaforex Loprais Praga Team Aleš Loprais runs into difficulty on Dakar SS5

Jan 10, 2024

The dunes of the fifth stage of Dakar Rally 2024 proved to be a challenge for the Instaforex Loprais Praga Team. Aleš Loprais, Jaroslav Valtr Jr. and Jiří Stross had to deal with technical issues in the desert. However, they handled it well and are still fighting for a top 3 position in the truck category.

On Wednesday, January 10, the Dakar Rally 2024 continued from Al-Hofuf to Shubaytah with a 645-kilometre-long stage. First, the crews had to travel over 500 kilometres over a road section before they finally reached a special stage. It was relatively short, with 118 kilometres, but still challenging, as it took place exclusively in the Empty Quarter.

However, due to technical issues during the stage, the #602 Praga V4S DKR truck finished more than 40 minutes behind today’s winner.

“Our starter broke down, so we lost half an hour in the dunes. It was a battle for survival, so a bit hectic as well. But we’re glad we had found the issue, replaced the component and pushed the truck to the finish,” says Aleš Loprais, who did not hide a massive relief.

“It’s even closer in the top 3 now. While Van Kasteren made a bigger gap in the lead, we’re still only in the fifth stage, so we will try to push as hard as we can. Hopefully, we’ll have more luck from now again.”

The Instaforex Loprais Praga Team crew was also given a 5-minute penalty for exceeding the maximum allowed top speed in a zone with an active limiter. While that happened on Monday already, it took until Wednesday before it was announced. Thus, Aleš Loprais, Jaroslav Valtr Jr. and Jiří Stross lost their Stage 3 victory and dropped to second place in its results.

The team also lost a position in the trucks overall standings and holds third position after 5 out of 12 stages. Loprais is 26 minutes behind the overall leader Janus van Kasteren, and 4 minutes behind Martin Macík Jr. in second place.

Now, the crews must prepare for another unprecedented challenge. The organisers have prepared a two-day stage for January 11 and 12, called “48H Chrono Stage” which is a brand-new format at the Dakar and has never appeared since the first event in 1979.

This two-day stage is a 781-kilometre-long loop from and to Shubaytah, out of which 572 kilometres will be timed. Competitors must prepare for dunes, sandy plains and chotts in the Empty Quarter. The fourth biggest desert of the world is going to challenge the drivers with difficult terrain, and more tricky navigational points.

However, the biggest difference lies with the new format. On Thursday, all crews must get as far as possible, but only until 4pm, when they will be called into the closest, improvised bivouac. There will be seven of them in total along the route.

There they must spend the night while getting only tents, sleeping bags and food for dinner and breakfast from the organisers. The plan is to leave the crews completely isolated from the outer world, with any communication outside of the bivouac strictly prohibited. That leaves the crews without any updates on their competitors, who will spend night in other bivouacs, and not knowing how they are doing in the ongoing stage.

On Friday morning, they will be released again to finish the stage. They will resume in the order in which they had arrived at the bivouac the day before.

There is no doubt the following two days will be incredibly challenging for the crews. And that was confirmed by the Dakar director David Castera, who said: “I think I won’t be winning any prizes for popularity after this.”

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