Šoltys finished 8th in Truck category, Macháček crashed
The 8th stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia finally brought fine sand and dunes. That was good for Martin Šoltys who felt like at home. The Czech driver managed to confirm his position in TOP 10. Josef Macháček crashed, but he still made it to the bivouac, and he continues in the competition.
The Dakar Rally 2020 did not slow down even on Monday. However, this time the drivers finally enjoyed a good terrain. In the Truck category, Martin Šoltys fought for the TOP5, but he also found time to help his competitors.“Today, we finally had a stage that I liked – with technical parts and dunes. The fine sand caught out a lot of vehicles, so we had to navigate around them. I think this terrain is our only chance to fight these guys. We need more stages like this,” said Martin Šoltys after a successful day, but he also helped another driver, Martin Macík in IVECO truck.“We lost a minimum amount of time. Of course, we wanted to do it. I’d be also glad if he came to help me,” added Šoltys.
Josef Macháček and Vlastimil Tošenovský had a difficult day as they crashed and turned their buggy upside down. The Can-Am Buggyra MK50 XRS remained stuck on the side and unfortunately, none of their competitors came to help. The Czech crew had to solve the situation on their own to remain in the race. Once again, their biggest enemy was the night. But the most important fact is that both drivers were unhurt in the accident.“Yesterday, we decided to test different rims and tyres that wouldn’t crawl as much. But it led to a moment when we tipped over at one of the dunes. It wasn’t anything dramatic, but we got stuck on the side in a very bad place. I didn’t even expect anyone to help us there. We had to put the buggy on all four wheels by ourselves. After we managed to do it, we decided just to continue using the simplest route possible, so we make it in time and we can remain in the competition,” described Macháček their long Monday.
The next challenge, the 9th stage of the competition, will be the longest one yet. The crews are going to face 891 kilometres in total, out of which 415 will be timed. This special stage should offer a mix of everything – sand, dunes and rocks.
