A Log Deprives Kolomý of Podium, Overall Fifth Rank Belongs to Him
The pilot of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team literally waded the mud holding the second rank. In the second half of the day he lost the rank for complications with the clutch and crossed the finish line with the seventh best time. He ranks fifth in the overall ranking with a loss of over five minutes behind the leader, the Dutch pilot Van Den Brink.
The second stage of the famous race included sections with even more mud than stage one, which gave good chances for a top rank to Martin Kolomý. He confirmed this immediately after start, sticking to one of the top ranks. However, at the end of the stage he had to struggle with gear engagement disorder which held him back and made him drop down to the seventh rank. “Today´s stage was very demanding for the truck and for the technology. At kilometre forty a log stuck to our servo when we passed through a forest, pushing a stick out, and so we drove for another eighty or a hundred kilometres without the clutch. But we are here and can continue tomorrow after all and that is the main thing,“ commented Kolomý on the complications in the course of the second stage.
The defect of the TATRA Phoenix racing special was not serious and the mechanics of the TATRA BUGGYRA Racing team could put it right overnight. “It is not easy to drive without the clutch, especially in conditions as demanding as those today. But we will manage the problem and in the morning Martin will have his Phoenix ready again,” were the words of Robin Dolejš about the technical complication. “Looking around me, we could have ended in a much worse trouble. The five-minute loss is nothing and we will roll it on tomorrow. I am looking forward,” added Kolomý, seated in the overall raking on the fifth line of the results table.
The third racing day will be the last in Russia and a 330-kilometre-long measured section will move the field on to Kostanay in Kazakhstan. As the road will be similar to the previous stages, an interesting race is expected, that might favour Kolomý.
