Kolomý Ends Stage Nine Immediately After KAMAZs
The demanding stage 9 with a fifty-kilometre section of sand dunes was ended by the pilot of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team at the fifth rank, just after the army of the excellently cooperating Russian KAMAZs. In the overall ranking he dropped to the fourth rank with just a small loss below the podium ranks.
Sunday was the rest day, utilised by the crew of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team for gaining forces to use in the remaining stages. “We mainly tried to rest and relax, each of us in his own way. Some playing football, others only lying down. We also serviced Phoenix as necessary, to hold as to date,” remembered Kolomý the previous day.
The 9th stage between the Chinese cities Urumqi and Hami was over 800 kilometres long, including a 421-kilometre measured section, with a technically demanding part in sand dunes. Martin Kolomý ranked fifth after it, right after the “blue” team, which only the Czech pilot is able to compete with here. “The route was brutal again today. We had to “trade off” most of the stage in order not to destroy the truck and ourselves. The goal was to survive,” noted the native of Bruntál the treacherousness of today´s special section of the stage. “Although we did not make any mistake n navigation, the KAMAZs ran incredibly quickly. We could not compare to their speed today at all and had to slow down our own tempo instead. On the way there was a beautiful 50-kilometre-long dune section, but now we are glad we are in the finish after all. The day was demanding indeed,“ said the tired Kolomý at the end of the day, after dropping to the fourth overall rank in the interim score, but still remaining the only representative of the “rest of the world” able to compete with the tempo set by the KAMAZs and hold a promisingly small loss after the podium ranks.
