The deluge is now behind and all four crews of the Polaris Xtremeplus team took the start of the marathon stage this morning – this means no possibility of perform any mechanic work in the vehicles. While all service trucks were obligated to head to Bolivia, competitors took the road of Purmamarca, the beginning of Paso Jama, for a timed loop of 429km.
Fast tracks, little navigation requirements and altitude were part of today’s program.
Michele Cinotto/Maurizio Dominella n°389 (66th in 5h25’22) : “Today is my 57th birthday, and I offered myself a 4th stage behind the wheel of the Polaris RZR 1000 XT+Maxxis, what I hadn’t had yet! I am not tired, I could easily start another stage again. And regarding the stage, nothing interesting!”
Eugenio Amos/Rafael Tornabell n°371 (68th in 5h31’13): “It was a very long stage and the RZR had some difficulties with the altitude. The tracks were kind of boring, always straight ahead… we didn’t encountered any issues, which works well for a marathon stage. I tell myself that this means 400 km less to complete, but I’ll get there!”
Leandro Torres/Roldan Lourival n°367 (72nd in 3h45’37): “We had zero problem during the first part of today’s marathon stage. It was a beautiful day, but I paid more attention to the car than in previous days. Lourival didn’t feel well at the finish line, because of the altitude, so after a little oxygen he recovered.”
Mao Rujin/Ka Chun Yu n°394 (75th in 5h50’43): “Knowing that the mechanics would not be at the bivouac tonight, we drove taking care of the car and tires. Unfortunately we had a puncture… and a three minute penalty for speeding. But I have a good feeling and we didn’t have any other problem, which very important for a marathon stage. At the end, the trucks reached us so I did my best to finish. Now I am tired and hungry!”
