Luboš Veselý - 10.01.2018

Kolomý Drives for Third Rank, Šoltys First in Top 10!

Martin Kolomý ranked third in stage four, only left behind by the interim leader Nikolaev with Kamaz and Villagra with Iveco. Martin Šoltys´s performance keeps rising, he completed the fourth speed test with eighth rank! He now also holds the eighth rank in the interim ranking.

Pilot number one of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team Martin Kolomý today praised the organizers for a successful start. He then arrived in the finish with the third quickest time. “Beautiful stage, nice beginning on a beach, never seen before at Dakar. The new development with parallel start of two trucks pleased me for we won. Otherwise really beautiful mountains, basins. The truck works, only we must still tune up something. I am looking forward to tomorrow,“ was Kolomý´s comment on the fourth stage. His loss after the leader, Nikolaev, is over thirteen hours and his current overall rank is fifteenth.

On the other hand, the performance of Martin Šoltys keeps improving. In this stage he achieved his first ranking in the top 10, ending the race with the eighth rank. “Today we succeeded. And achieved a super result. It was really hard, especially the first hundred kilometres was a mill for the trucks, we jumped across stones and basins. The truck could hardly fit in there, so narrow it was. My whole body aches. But the in the dunes we were good, although we still got stuck in one place, together with Macík and Loprais, but finally we found it. Loprais then turned upside down in front of us and stayed there. It is worse and worse, each stage more difficult than the previous one. The leaders really fly forward, I cannot understand how they can drive like this,“ were the impressions of Martin Šoltys as described after arriving in the finish. In the interim ranking he now holds the fantastic eighth rank.

“So this section was really wonderful, a true Dakar. Everything was there, endless thrashers, quick sections, and about a hundred kilometres of really hard dunes as a bonus. So we did enjoy it, although some moments were really strained. But we managed quite well and if we continue like this till the end it will be good,“ was the comment of the Dakar matador Josef Kalina about the fourth speed section.