Kolomý Celebrates Second Victory and Increases Leader Advantage
Martin Kolomý´s crew of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team added the second victory to their account after the fourth stage, increasing their overall advantage in the interim ranking of the Silk Way Rally.
Weather like on a swing is the best characteristic of the first days of the Silk Way race. Water and mud marked again the fourth stage over 40 kilometres long and divided into two measured sections with the end in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. Martin Kolomý showed again, like many times before, that when the technology works at 100%, he is able to achieve excellent results. In the second measured section he ranked second after the Dutch champion De Rooy with Iveco. “I feel like at home in Milovice, it is raining cats and dogs and my Tatra is one big muddy ball. But it runs fine and all works as expected,“ was he assessment of the beginning of the fourth racing day by the native of Bruntál.
The second measured section was managed by Kolomý even better than the first one and when approaching its finish he even managed to overcome De Rooy with an advantage of 21 seconds over him. “The opening stages are treacherous and muddy. There are a lot of water pools on the road hiding big holes so we try to drive at lease and avoid unnecessary risk. Danger waits round the corner and a mistake can be made easily and can be fatal. We saw one of the Peugeots smashed to pieces. It will not be easy to make it go again,“ commented Kolomý on the accident of Peterhansel, who does not seem to be able to deal the cards of the race anymore.
“When they told me in the finish about our first rank I was surprised but this is exactly what rally is about, less may sometimes be more. I am very happy that Tatra performs at 100%, I only hope we both endure and survive until the dunes,“ added the satisfied Kolomý at the end of the stage. His advantage today is over 11 minutes in comparison of the time of the second ranking pilot, the already mentioned Dutchman De Rooy.
Tomorrow the already considerably reduced field of pilots and their trucks will leave Astana for the city of Semey with a special section 484 km long! This is the longest measured section in Kazakhstan and the second longest measured section of the race.
