Janus van Kasteren has done good business in the Dakar Rally. During the fifth stage on the way to the Empty Quarter, the Veldhoven truck driver got stuck in the dunes. His teammate Michel Becx helped him out. The time loss on the winner of the day was therefore limited to 23 minutes. But Van Kasteren’s biggest competitor Ales Loprais lost even more time due to technical problems, so the Brabander continues to lead the truck rankings.
Wednesday’s stage from Al-Hofuf to Shubaytah was a big one. A total of 727 kilometers were covered by the participants. But that was mainly a connecting route towards the Empty Quater. The speed test was only 118 kilometers long, but it was tough in the soft desert sand over dunes tens of meters high.
Empty Quarter
Things really get tough on Thursday and Friday when the participants drive through the dreaded, but at the same time challenging Empty Quarter. This desert is the same size as France in terms of area, but consists entirely of sand and sand dunes hundreds of meters high.
And to make it even tougher, the participants ride a marathon stage. So at the end of the test on Thursday, the drivers have to maintain and repair their vehicles themselves, sleep in a tent and return to the sandbox early on Friday morning for another grueling stage.