Tatra Buggyra Racing Team Uses Cancelled Stage for Servicing!
Stage nine was cancelled for the reason of continuing rains and floods in Bolivia. The organisers made this decision mainly for the sake of safety. The TATRA Buggyra Racing team used the “free day” for preparation of the racing specials for the final part of the Dakar Rally.
“The organisers informed us on Sunday that stage nine would be cancelled. The Tupiza bivouac was completely under water and they did not let us in at all and there is a completely flooded bridge on the way to Salta, we were told. When the boys arrived we decided to take an alternative route and set off for Argentina right away,“ was Robin Dolejš´s report on the situation.
The TATRA Buggyra Racing team was one of the first to start for Argentina after learning about the cancelled stage. “Around seven in the morning the complete team arrived in the bivouac in Salta, Argentina. Clearly as one of the first, for no one wanted to drive overnight and so the bivouac only began to be occupied later,” commented the team manager Jan Kalivoda on the team´s arrival. “As we obtained another “free day” thanks to the cancelled stage, the mechanics are preparing the trucks for the final part of the Dakar Rally. After the technical issues in the previous stages there is a lot to repair and so the free day equals to a work day. Luckily Salta is sunlit and the temperatures range around 30 degrees Centigrade, which is much more pleasant than temperatures around zero and mud,” says Kalivoda, who is satisfied with the background in Salta. “This bivouac is always one of the best at Dakar. There is hot water here, normal showers and a classical WC, so everybody can enjoy profound hygiene,“ he added.
Thus the crews, after the 500 kilometres of stage eight, added another 500 kilometres of the transfer on the same day. “This was a little more demanding but we took the right decision. We travelled overnights, and early morning we already reached the Salta bivouac, for the boys to have the whole day for servicing the trucks, a little broken down after the previous stages,” said the pilot of the TATRA Buggyra Racing team Martin Kolomý, looking forward to the final stages of Dakar. “In Argentina we will face some sand and dunes again, so we will have better chances to reduce our loss a little again. I hope we will be successful,“ he added.
