What a start for Orlando Terranova who really does not want to lose his title this year. Faced with a strong competition : three former winners of the Dakar , he said it might be an opportunity to take another leap in his progression. The attack started on the First day! Succeeding in avoiding the dangers of a tricky special. In hot pursuit was Giniel de Villiers who is very close, with only 22 seconds in it. Nasser Al-Attiyah is third. As for Nani Roma conspicuously absent!
RACE MOVIE
276 km of special, and yet only 22 ‘between the first two. We are really in a top competition, to a level where the top drivers test their limits, which explains this short time difference, given the distance traveled.
“It’s not too bad for me, said De Villiers on the finish line, after getting out of his Toyota Hilux. Overdrive I had not driven this car in a competition for a while. It took a little time to pick up the pace. After the dunes, we started to really push … then 15 km away, I had a puncture. But it’s my fault. I hit a rock. Other than that, we did not have too many problems. ”
That’s why he’s in second place. It is tempting to contrast the Latin Orlando Terranova and the calmer and more experienced Giniel De Villiers. Yet it is the wisdom of the Argentinean that made the difference on this first leg.
“It was a good special. We knew there was danger, so I was careful says Orlando Terranova. We had a very small navigation error. The Mini is great, but maybe we can push a little more. “The warning is out to all his opponents!
Nasser Al-Attiyah takes the third place of the day at 1’05 behind ‘Terranova. Pleased with his day, “Only a small navigation error to report.” Bernhard Ten Brinke, a little nervous, fourth at 3’37 ‘, he was not very happy with the navigation of his co-driver. The former winner of the OiLybia Rally of Morocco does not like to waste time, unfortunately a stupid mistake only 5 km into the race apparently cost them unnecessary time.
The news of the day , or rather the lack of it , comes from …..Juan Nani Roma. The X-Raid driver loses 24 ‘…. He was first at CP2 and then fourth CP3. What happened? We don’t know yet, as he didn’t stop at the finish line, for the traditional interviews Visibly annoyed. Maybe Nani used all his spare wheels, perhaps also a navigational error, or some other mechanical problem. We’ll try and find out for our next news feed!
