Dakar 2017: third stage. Bad luck follows us.

The third stage is over. Nothing pleasant. We started from the 12th position, so we could expect a lot of dust and overtaking. We were quite successful in the first part of the measured section and we finished in 4th position. We suffered through the connecting stretch of the stage approximately 500 km long. I don't like it, as one drops out of the race rhythm, but nothing can be done about it. We succeeded in the 2nd part of the measured trial, we achieved stable time and it seemed that we will improve our tomorrow's starting position. We were in 5th place at the last WP, with the loss of around 4 minutes to the first truck. But in the last part, about 20 km before the finish, we encountered a technical problem. Servo pump. It was exchanged recently. What can I say? We lost half an hour, dropped down to 17th place in the stage and overall, we are in 13th place. We go on!

Tomorrow the stage will take us from San Salvador de Jujuy to Tupiza. This 4th stage measuring 521 km, 416 km of which will be a speed trial, will be the same for all categories and includes crossing the border between Argentina and Bolivia. We will drive in the mountains and the organizer promises dune fields in the end. The first truck will depart at 14.54 CET.

Think of us tomorrow too! Greetings from Ales Loprais