Ultimate Dakar racing team
Dakar 2024: First dunes for Ourednicek and Kripal in Toyota Hilux T1+
The second stage of the 46th Dakar Rally between Al Henakiyah and Al Duwadimi was much nicer than yesterday’s but also longer, with a special stage of 463 km. The crew of Toyota Gazoo Racing Czech, Tomas Ourednicek and David Kripal, liked the track but experienced some setbacks during the day. Although they were not really satisfied with their 43rd position on the stage, they still climbed up two positions in the overall ranking to 34th place.
“In the morning, I was a bit afraid because this was our first time in the dunes with the Toyota Hilux T1+, but it was amazing. However, I made a mistake. In the morning, as we were starting with an absolutely full fuel tank into the dunes, I made a slight change to the setup of the dampers, and that proved to be a bad idea. It made the car very difficult to drive, and we weren’t as fast as we could have been.
The stage itself was very nice, sandy tracks, fast tracks, this is exactly what I like. At one point, there was a really big step and hole, and the car hit the first small hill and flew, landing not exactly on the nose but on the front wheels. It was quite a scary moment, but we quickly regained control.
Short before the end of the special stage, we got lost, losing maybe 20 minutes. Overall, I can’t say I’m satisfied with the day, but our Toyota works really well, and this is the most important now,” Tomas Ourednicek summarised the stage.
“Today, we did some overtaking again. The navigation was not easy. It took us some time together with a group of bikers to find one waypoint in a valley. Apart from this, the stage was nice,” co-driver David Kripal added.
Tomorrow, the crews have to complete a 438 km long special stage between Al Duwadimi and Al Salamiya, as the first part of a marathon stage. The total distance of the day will be 733 km.
