“He was admired and inspired”: the eighth stage of the “Dakar” in the motorcycle classification was canceled after the death of Gonçalves

Trucks

After a well-deserved rest day, the participants of the Dakar rally marathon expected the longest special stage of Riyadh - Wadi al-Davasir with a length of 546 km. More than half of the path was characterized by sand cover and the presence of treacherous sand dunes.

To the delight of the fans, on the eve it became known that the crew of Russian Eduard Nikolaev, speaking at KamAZ, was returning to the race. Recall that during the passage of the fifth special stage, his truck had problems with the motor. The breakdown was eliminated by the beginning of the next stage, however, at the 33rd km it again made itself felt and the current winner was forced to withdraw.

The crew of Nikolaev spent a rest day, figuring out the cause of the engine malfunction and doing everything possible to eliminate it. Their work was crowned with success, and the KamAZ leadership decided to take advantage of the innovation, according to which any rider or team after the exit once has the right to continue the competition in a separate standings - Dakar Experience. It is worth noting that its participants will start later than their colleagues from the main classification.

The seventh special stage was held under the sign of dominance of KamAZ trucks. The leader of the overall standings Andrey Karginov was the first to go the whole distance, periodically experiencing pressure from Dmitry Sotnikov, who was gradually approaching his teammate.

At the last cut-off, the advantage of the more experienced crew was less than a minute, which portended a sharp struggle between the two KamAZ trucks. The audience was not disappointed: the battle was fought literally to the last meters of the distance, but the victory remained with Karginov, who crossed the finish line only 3 seconds earlier than Sotnikov. The top three leaders was locked by another KAMAZ player Anton Shibalov, who lost 2 minutes to the triumph.

Members of the Karginov team noted a large number of high-speed sections at the current stage.

“There were places where you could leave the course. A lot of roads on hard and sandy plateaus. There was less sand, more sandy ridges crossed. So the whole day it alternated. But there were more speed stages. As for overtaking, we didn’t see anyone in front of us, ”said navigator Andrei Moiseev.

Thus, KamAZ for the third time at the current Dakar occupied all three steps of the podium. In the general classification, Karginov strengthened his leadership. He is 21 minutes 12 seconds ahead of Shibalov, and 46 minutes 39 seconds ahead of Belarus Sergey Vyazovich from MAZ.

SUVs

In the SUV class, Karl Sainz Sr. confirmed his superiority. As in the previous special stage, the main struggle in the race unfolded between three veterans of motorsport: in addition to the Spaniard, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Stefan Petransel claimed the first place. The Frenchman and the Qatari replaced each other for most of the distance, but at the mark of 321 km, the 2010 Dakar triumph overtook the rivals and held the lead until the finish.

Al-Attiyah took second place, Petransel - third. In the overall classification, the riders settled in the same order. Now Sainz Sr. is ahead of the Toyota representative by 10 minutes, and his teammate by 19 minutes 13 seconds.

The Russians Alexander Dorosinsky and Denis Krotov managed to improve their tournament position, rising to 16th and 17th lines, respectively, but now they are almost 4 hours behind the leaders.

Many are surprised by the fact that the class of SUVs is headed immediately by three age-specific pilots, the youngest of whom, Attia, will turn 50 this year. However, according to the head of the Bahrain Jcw X-Raid Team Sven Quandt, this trend is quite logical.

“Ultimately, Dakar is experience, experience, and again experience. This is knowledge that helps to understand when you can drive, and when you need to drive carefully, ”the Championship quotes Quandta.

ATVs

Unfortunately, the Russian Snag Racing driver Sergey Karjakin again missed the opportunity to regain leadership in the all-terrain vehicle class. According to the results of the race, he took only 12th place. Now his lag from the first line, on which Casey Curry is located, is 42 minutes 57 seconds. The victory at the seventh special stage was won by Blade Hildebrand, whose time does not go into the overall standings.

“Over 150 km we blew up two spare belts, we had no more. And I had to go 400 km, take care of the car. Of course, they lost another half hour. But nothing, tomorrow will start again, tomorrow we will fight again, ”Karjakin quotes E1.

17th and 19th places, respectively, were taken by two more Russians - Alexey Shmotev and Ilya Rouss.

Motorcycles and ATVs

The seventh stage was overshadowed by the first tragedy at the current “Dakar”. The accident killed an experienced Portuguese motorcyclist Paulo Gonçalves, for whom the current marathon was 13th in his career.

The accident occurred at the 276th km of the distance. At the moment, its details are being specified, but it is known that cardiac arrest was the cause of death.

Gonçalves fell off a motorcycle in the middle of the desert, where an ambulance brigade was immediately called by helicopter. The Portuguese were sent to a hospital where his death was ascertained.

Día muy triste. Un abrazo inmenso para la familia y amigos de Paulo Goncalves. Un campeón. Descansa en paz piloto. pic.twitter.com/uKLFuButt3

It is worth noting that the last time such a tragedy occurred at Dakar in 2015. Then the reason for the cardiac arrest of the pole Michal Hernik was dehydration and overheating.

Many representatives of motorsport paid tribute to the deceased colleague.

“Our rally-raid community is quite friendly, it is a narrow circle of people, we all know each other, and this loss is very big for everyone, the loss of a friend and comrade. It’s very difficult to go to the special stage the next day, it’s like a stone on your soul, it’s very difficult morally, especially for motorcyclists who understand that this can happen to everyone, ”TASS quotes Russian motorcycle racer Anastasia Nifontova.

In memory of the deceased rider, the eighth stage of the rally in the motorcycle and ATV class will be canceled.

“The death of Paulo Gonçalves during the seventh stage shocked the entire Dakar, especially motorcyclists. Paulo, a favorite rally figure, was highly respected by both veterans and less experienced members who admired and inspired him. After meeting with the riders and discussing the situation with the whole family of motorcyclists, the organizers decided to cancel the eighth stage for the category of motorcycles and ATVs, which was supposed to go along the ring route around Wadi al-Davasir, to give riders the opportunity to honor the memory of their friend, ”TASS quoted the organizers as saying. .

The victory at the seventh stage was won by the Argentinean Kevin Benavides, however, in the overall standings, the American Ricky Brabek still leads. Russian Ditri Agoshnikov - 66th.

In the ATV class, the first place again remained with the Frenchman Simon Witsem.