The drivers still have the entire second half of this year’s extremely challenging Dakar ahead of them. And as the first part of the race has shown, anything can happen during the remaining six stages. On Sunday, after a day off, the trucks set off into the 402-kilometre Stage 7. The Big Shock! Racing team sent Martin Macik’s yellow Iveco truck, which did very well in this stage. The crew improved their position, finishing as the 9th fastest, and also is back in the TOP 10 in the overall rankings.      

The toughest Dakar in Saudi Arabia

Martin Macik’s crew went into the seventh stage without the support of teammate Martin Soltys for the first time. The drivers rate this year’s Dakar as the most challenging of the Saudi Arabian editions so far. Everything is faster, the competition is strong in all categories, and the track is also very technical and difficult. This reflects in the shape of the racing vehicles and the drivers themselves. Macik’s truck from Sedlcany went into the stage after a planned full technical service, which took place during the day off, and, after finishing the stage, it seems that the mechanics did a good job.

A good, cruising stage  

The driver, Martin Macik, navigated by Frantisek Tomasek and supported by the onboard mechanic David Svanda, started Stage 7 from the 9th position. Their truck, Charles, passed today’s demanding route without any problems, keeping good speed on the harder surface. However, the lower engine power still shows in the dunes, which slows the crew down in some sections. And that was the reason why today – especially during took-offs – the crew lost a few minutes. Navigation was also good, although today it was not easy to keep control of the rapidly changing directions. “Overall, this was a good stage. Navigation was quite difficult today, but Frantisek managed it well. We were looking for a checkpoint two or three times, and we kept going in circles for a while before we found it. But that could have taken us a minute and a half at most, no more. Riding in the sand with the low power, we feel like we’re on a road trip. But we are quite happy with our stage position given the circumstances,” Martin Macik said.

Return to the TOP 10

The Big Shock! Racing crew managed to reach the finish line in 9th place, with a loss of only 13 minutes. The important thing is that the Sedlcany crew arrived safe and sound, their truck is holding up, and it seems that the mechanics will have a calmer night this time. No major collision happened to the crew on the track. However, they passed several of their competitors along the track who ran into technical difficulties.

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