Women racing over rocky sections, mountain tracks, and climbing to altitude of 1,300 metres in 2023 Dakar Rally Stage 2 Sea Camp to Alula. With total distance covered of 589.07kms of which 430kms was timed, female competitors in the 45th edition of Dakar Rally climbed table rankings in Day 2 of 14 Stages.
From tamping the nerves in Stage 1, women racing across Bike, Car, Lightweight Prototype and SSV categories are already proving match for their male counterparts. These women are sending strong message that no matter which gender races in Dakar, those with fierce fighting spirit, determination, and carefully tuned race skills earn their rightful place amongst their peers in overall standings.
In bike category, Spanish rider Sandra Gomez has really hit her mark on board her KTM 450 Rally bike, mastering the rocky, mountainous passes, along with steering clear of the dust from the car’s, finishing Stage 2 in P64.
Sandra: ‘Long day, a lot of rocks but I felt comfortable and good on the bike. The goal was to recover positions to start better and catch less cars. Happy with today’s stage and recharging batteries for tomorrow. Stage 2 P64 6 hours 55 minutes’.
Dutch rider, Mirjam Pol knows racing Dakar always brings number of surprises to the table – as Mirjam found today, a crash meant sore body, dented bike, and a few moments of wondering if this race would be one of survival, or will her 10th Dakar be enjoyable as anticipated.
Mirjam: ‘It was a weird day today, we even had rain, and it was survival to get to the finish. The route didn’t suit me at all but you know these days are part of the rally. And… as odd as it may seem, I did feel like I was getting better at it, like it was ‘less hard work’. It clearly took me less effort than yesterday to get into a good rhythm.
Until about 100 kilometres before the finish I rode along a path with all rocks through a river bed. It was really in the blink of an eye and I had a decent speed, it was so fast and unexpected, my bike was sliding away and I fell off. From my left shoulder, through my right knee to my left toe, I feel everything is sore. Let’s see how I feel tomorrow morning but I do hope that it will not be a matter of surviving and that I will be able to compete and get back into the race mode’. Stage 2 P80 Bike General classification.
Anyone who dares dream of racing Dakar, ideally would aim for full support – back up for mechanical maintenance, setting up base camp, and general Team spirit to continue racing throughout the grueling 14 Stages. Not so for Kirsten Landman. Taking on the most daunting of challenges to race Malle Moto with No Assistance, Kirsten completed Stage 2 in Bike General category in P98 with total of 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 39 seconds on the bike.
Spanish driver Cristina Gutierrez delivered another fine performance with co-driver Pablo Moreno Heute pushing their overall rankings in T3: Lightweight Prototype category to P6. Cooling her head with water ahead of Stage 2, @cris-tortu spreads positive vibes to all watching that achieving success in Dakar takes time, hard work, and concentrated focus from one season to the next.
Saudi driver Dania Akeel maintained consistent pace completing Stage 2 in P13 closely followed by rookie driver, Pamela Bozzano who charged up T3 General rankings to P14 with co-driver Carlos Sachs. Dutch rookie driver Anja Van Loon put all experience and knowledge learnt supporting her father and brother in service trucks at previous Dakar’s to the ultimate test, completing Stage 2 in P23.
X-Raid line-up of women in T3: Lightweight Prototype category focused on least number of punctures to finish the day before dusk, navigating the rocks and narrow mountainous passes to finish in P26 for Annett Fischer and Annie Seel, and P27 for Camelia Liparoti and co-driver Xavier Blanco Garcia.
Uruguay debut entry Patricia Pita Gago made nice work to finish Stage 2 in P28, with Buggyra Racing driver Aliyyah Koloc’s results yet to be posted at time of writing. Equally, in Car category, Laia Sanz finishing position has not yet been confirmed, while father and daughter pair of Manual and Monica Plaza completed Day 2 in 8 hours, 51 minutes and 17 seconds.
All hail to Australian driver Molly Taylor who completed Stage 2 in T4 category in P6 with codriver Andrew Short. No word yet, on T4 female pair of Rebecca Busi and co-driver Giulia Maroni, nor up-date on X Raid driver Merce Marti and co-pilot Lisette Bakker racing T3.
2023 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Alula to Ha’il total distance: 669.15kms with Special Stage: 425kms.
Header photo: Sandra Gomez Image credit: @rally_zone
Words: Sharon Cox.
Comments are closed.