• Terranova still on the way to finishing the special stage, following an accident
The Monster Energy Rally Raid Team once again had to cope with mixed emotions, today. In the fourth stage, from Chilecito to Copiapo, Spanish-French pairing Nani Roma / Michel Périn and their green and black MINI ALL4 Racing worked their way back up into the top flight by finishing runner-up, with Krzysztof Holowczyc (POL) and Xavier Panseri (FRA) finishing 12th, with their blue and black MINI ALL4 Racing. Meanwhile, it proved to be a day to forget for Orlando Terranova and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue: they hit a rock with their left rear wheel, thus damaging the wheel suspension. The pairing currently still is on its way to completing the special stage. “
I’m really delighted with having finished second, today,” revealed Roma. “And even more so as things didn’t look too promising, at the beginning of the special stage. I suffered from a headache caused by the Andes crossing and therefore, I wasn’t able to drive as quickly as I would have liked to do. In the closing stages, however, things had changed and I was really fast.”
Holowczyc also was rather happy with his achievements in today’s special stage. “In the first part we made really good progress but in the dunes, things got more difficult as Xavier has not yet got a lot of experience, in this area.” Rally Monte Carlo winner Panseri has got a lot of WRC experience under his belt but is contesting his first Dakar, this year. “He does a really good job, makes exact announcements at the perfect point in time,” Holowczyc praises his navigator. “And it’s clear that he can’t have dune experience.”
Meanwhile, the Monster Energy Rally Raid Teams mechanics in the service park at Copiapo are waiting for Terranova and Graue who currently still are trying to repair the damages on their car.
Tomorrow, the Dakar field will race from Copiapo to Antofagasta: a 174-kilometre liaison section is followed by 458 special-stage kilometres. Nearly the entire special stage will be contested on hard but Fech Fech peppered terrain. And after having crossed the finish line, the crews will have to cover another 65 kilometresto the bivouac.
