Women faced battles in 2023 Dakar Rally Stage 5 leg Ha’il to Ha’il travelling total distance of 645.04kms with 373kms timed. Having already experienced the most toughest of opening Stages, crossing rocky sections and mountainous passes, to racing in heavy rain in Stage 3, women continue in true Dakar Spirit to endure, conquer, and race towards the finish of each and every Stage.
As founder of the Dakar Rally said in 1982: ‘Today’s adventurers are consumed by the passion to surpass what has already been achieved‘ – Thierry Sabine – which has put all competitors to the test in what has been described as the toughest Dakar yet.
As quoted by Dakar Rally Legend Camelia Liparoti T3 Stage 2: ‘I don’t think I have ever seen so many stones in my entire Dakar career. Almost 400km of nothing but stones and at the end dunes that we had to master in the dark. We had several punctures, as I think everyone else did. It’s very stressful to drive when you know you have no spare. We had to be very careful. I’m very happy to be here’.
And Dakar Rally Legend Laia Sanz Car: ‘3rd stage today we had 138th place in the starting order, so you can imagine just how destroyed we found the road. We must have passed around 40 cars and trucks, and at some points we were going very slowly because the road was very broken. Despite that, I’m happy because we finished P29 and that means tomorrow we will have a good starting position’.
Little wonder that all followers and fans watching around the world take huge inspiration from such athletes, admiring their strength of character to persevere against extreme adversity, ready to rise the next day afresh to tackle what the Stage has to offer. For each competitor, female or male, the challenge to race Dakar for 14 consecutive days remains the ultimate test of synching mind, body, and machine to overcome obstacles on terrain as inhospitable to the human race.
Completing Stage 5 in Bike category, Spanish rider Sandra Gomez has really hit nice rhythm on bike, rounding out the day in P45 to stand P57 in General classification. Dutch rider Mirjam Pol endured not such a smooth day, succumbing to mechanical issue which prompted quick thinking to stop, check, get advice, stock up on water for faulty cooler, and continue slowly – reaching the bivouac just before dark.
Mirjam: ‘Yes, of course I regret that I lost a lot of time but let’s do a round of positive thinking. How great it is that I saw the light burning at all, how super it is to realize that Wesley rode ahead of me and was able to give advice, and then in the middle of no-where there suddenly is a helicopter for water, and today it wasn’t that hot so my bike didn’t overheat and I just got all the waypoints!’
Malle Moto rider Kirsten Landman has kept apace despite having to race, complete all bike mechanics on her own, set-up tent, food, and clothing for next day to finish Stage 5 in P84 – P13 in Original by Motul rankings. As the only female in the No Assistance category, Kirsten has delivered super, fine performance covering Stages 1-5 in total of 34 hours, 26 minutes and 22 seconds on the bike.
Which brings facts to the fold. 2023 Dakar Rally competitors have covered 3.079kms over the course of Stages 1-5 which is the equivalent of driving from London to Rome and back. Within this distance, women to date have raced 2,042kms, up and down the table rankings, and there is still 9 days to go.
In Car category, Laia Sanz has certainly endured roller coaster of a drive, peaking her performance with co-driver Maurizio Gerini in Stage 4 with P20 from starting position of 138th, to encountering problems in Stage 5, reaching the finish in 11 hours, 20 minutes, and 49 seconds.
Equally, father and daughter pair of Manuel and Monica Plaza have pushed their capabilities to the limit, having to fix mechanical issues on each and every Stage. Sad tales indeed for female duo Merce Marti and Lisette Bakker, who had to concede Dakar Rally retirement after Stage 1, due to unrepairable damage from crash.
The battle in T3 classification rages with all women fighting their utmost to race to the best of their abilities, not withstanding overcoming all challenges that appear on route. Stage 5 proved merciless for driver’s facing the steep sand dunes, which cut back at such an angle, racing in the dark was clearly not an option for all.
Somehow Spanish icon Cristina Gutierrez made up for lost time, after being caught in treacherous flow of water in Stage 4, not only losing precious time and table position, but also testing her resolve on how to come back stronger on track the next day.
@cris-tortu: ‘After the Wadi incident, we’ve gone out to do our best to try and make up time. However, luck has not been on our side during the match either, since less than 1 kilometer of refilling we have run out of fuel losing 30 minutes. Subsequently we were able to defend ourselves from the dunes in survival mode as the temperature in the car remains very high. Tomorrow more, to keep fighting in this so hard Dakar!
The Red Bull Can-Am Factory driver finished Stage 5 in P5 followed by Saudi driver Dania Akeel in P12 and Buggyra Racing driver Aliyyah Koloc in P14. Both Dania and Aliyyah have proved they are more than capable of rising above adversities encountered racing Dakar, with Dania producing strong performance before hitting problems in Stage 4, and Aliyyah producing not quite the start she would have liked in Stages 1 and 2, but coming back with plenty of fight in latter two Stages.
X Raid pair of Annett Fischer and Annie Seel put all experience gained racing Dakar’s to good use racing and navigating the Team’s YXZ 1000R Turbo Prototype vehicle to end of Stage 5 in P16.
Annett: ‘Finally we came out of the stage in daylight. We have our very good starting position to thank for that. The last 50 kilometres were really tough. Steep dune ascents and descents with deep “craters”. I feel sorry for everyone who has to ride through there in the dark. We had a good day ourselves’.
Dutch driver, and rookie, Anja van Loon had great run completing Day 5 in P17, yet not so lucky were X Raid duo of Camelia Liparoti and co-driver Xavier Blanco Garcia who made it back in time of 11 hours, 1 minute and 17 seconds. Similarly, Pamela Bozzano experienced all that Dakar throws in the mix of racing, completing Stage 5 one position ahead of Camelia, with Uruguay driver Patricia Pita Gago rounding out T3 results of Stage 5.
Australian driver Molly Taylor remains force to be reckoned with having secured P14 in Day 5 with South Racing Can-Am, and rookie pair of Rebecca Busi and co-driver Giulia Maroni are still in the hunt standing P40 overall in T4 classification.
2023 Dakar Rally Stage 6 leg of Ha’il to Duwadimi total distance 877.69kms with 467kms timed. Header photo: Cristina Gutierrez Image: Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team.
Words: Sharon Cox.
Comments are closed.