The 48-hour-long Chrono Stage is a new addition to the Dakar Rally that has been easy on no one.
The newly introduced challenger began early Thursday morning until the competitors were called to hit the resting spots distributed accross the stage in the Saudi Arabian desert.
“As its name suggests, it will be contested over two days with the constraints of a marathon stage, although competitors will be allowed to help each other out in the evening,” a Dakar representative said.
“When the clock strikes 4 pm, all vehicles will be required to stop at the next bivouac they come across. With no connection and therefore no visibility of the performances achieved by their rivals, the riders and drivers will camp out and then set off at 7 am in the following day to complete the remaining section of the route.”
“The finishing times will be recorded after around 625km for the bikes and quads, and 547km for the cars.”
This also means that instead of the stage being divided into two, the competitors had to cover as much terrain as possible – if they were fast, it means less kilometers to go through in the second day, but if they were slow, the challenge only hardens.
For some, however, the dream of even completing the Dakar Rally has come to an end before they could finish this new gruelling adventure, as was the case for Yazeed Al Rajhi.
The Saudi national abandoned the event after terminally crashing his Toyota Hilux. He was a victim of the tricky dunes. He and his crew were flown to the start of the special, thus concluding their official participation in the Rally with a dramatic situation.
“Everything was OK on a very flat chott and we were at full speed when I hit something. The car did a barrel roll and now it is damaged,” he said.
However, is not all over for Al Rhaji – he will be allowed to continue the rally from Stage 7 if his car is fixed in time and complies with the FIA safety rules, but he will not be accounted for in the final classification, ending his dream of a Dakar victory for 2024.
Rookie or experienced, the desert sees no difference and Stephane Peterhansel was the clear example. The french driver suffered a puncture after 256km, but an hydraulic failure only worsened the situation and he ended up losing 2 hours and 8 minutes. The dream of a 15th victory is drifting away for Mister Dakar.
“We had a puncture and the hydraulic jack system started playing up,” Peterhansel said.
“With the damage to the hydraulic system, I’ve lost the power steering and I don’t know how we’re going to manage to pull through.”
Another big disappointment was for Skyler Howes. The American ground to a halt after 39 kilometers due to a mechanical problem he was unable to fix, ending his participation. He was 13th in the general rankings.
Pablo Quintanilla ran out of fuel and lost more than an hour, compromising his hopes of winning the Dakar or achieving a spot in the final podium. The Chilean was seen frustrated as other bikers ignored his calls for help – though, understandably. The bikes can only hold so much fuel and many competitors found taking the risk of giving away some not worth.
“It’s a sad moment,” Quintanilla said. “I was being careful with my fuel but 10km before the refuelling point I ran out of petrol. It’s tough when you’ve worked so hard and so long for this race.
“I always try to do my best, but that’s life. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t.”
The Dakar adventure continues Friday with the second part of the Chrono stage. Follow us here and on our social media channels for continuous coverage.