Stage 3 Al Ula > Ha’il
“You don’t think it possible, a river in the desert”
Trucks from Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco defy heavy rain showers…
HA’IL – “After rain comes sunshine”. For Mitchel van den Brink, that saying was only too true today. De Harskamper finished third in the, due to circumstances, shortened stage.
Martin van den Brink may also expect a good classification. The pilot of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco has shown his social side and due to that can expect that he will get time back in order to finish in the top five of the stage.
Stage info
This stage of the rally is stopped after 377km
Liaison > 221 km – Special > 447 km
Press release
The special from Alula to Ha’il was stopped after 377 kilometers. Rain, hail and thunderstorms made it impossible to continue racing. The medical helicopters had to be grounded due to the bad weather, which automatically ended the race.
Gert Huzink was the fastest at the last valid measuring point of today. Based on the positions at that point, Martin Macik will be second and Mitchel will finish with his Iveco Powerstar of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco for the third time in the top three.
“Lots of dust”
After the disappointing Monday, the sun was shining again for 20-year-old Harskamper today. “I am very happy with third place. We had to come a long way after yesterday’s eighteenth place. That meant that we had to overtake a lot of buggies and cars and suffered a lot from dust. However, we had a great ride. At a small river we had to look for some time for the waypoint, but found it eventually. We didn’t make any mistakes and I’m super happy with another third place. It was the right decision to stop the race. Many cars got stuck and know that they will not be able to continue. We look forward to tomorrow.”
Buggies and riders rescued from the water
That is what father Martin van den Brink has done. The 52-year-old Harskamper with his Iveco Powerstar was constantly in the top five. “We lost time to save three Buggies,” said Martin, who acted in the true spirit of the Dakar Rally with his co-pilots Erik Kofman and Richard Mouw. “Together with Janus and Ales Loprais, we were able to pull three cars out of the water. They really risked going under. Normally we will get the time back that we used to help the cars.”
Helping others makes the performance of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco even more beautiful. “With our truck, I am sure that we were able to drive the last 100 kilometers. It rained so hard that even a river started to show in the desert. You don’t think it is possible. It went really fast and some participants were in serious danger. We are satisfied and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Bivouac completely under water.
After this unforeseen early finish, the trucks of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco still had a trip of almost two hours ahead of them on their way to Ha’il. But Pluvius has also done its job there and the bivouac is completely under water.
An Eventful Third Stage for Janus van Kasteren!
After yesterday’s excellent performance, Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco started today as second, after the Czech Ales Loprais, the current classification leader. An official protest has been lodged with the FIA against Janus van Kasteren’s time penalty. This time penalty is currently under investigation.
Because the weather conditions were getting worse and safety could no longer be guaranteed, the organization decided to stop the race at CP3. Until then, the differences between the trucks were very small. Janus van Kasteren, Marcel Snijders and Darek Rodewald quickly overtook Loprais in his Praga and drove up with the Czech for a long time.
In terms of intermediate times, the Iveco Powerstar with start number 502 drove around places 4 and 5 for a long time. In the last part up to CP3, Van Kasteren lost more and more time. It looks like an electronic problem with the engine, perhaps caused by the excessive water. That disrupted driving considerably and he lost time. It is remarkable that, despite this shortcoming, the difference has remained relatively small.
Just after CP2 was the neutralization, where everyone had to wait twenty minutes. Ten kilometers further on there was a river that got bigger and bigger. Two Red Bull buggies got stuck in this river.
Janus van Kasteren Jr.: “We stopped there. After that Loprais also stopped, Macik I think too and later Martin (Van den Brink – Ed.) to get those buggies out of this river quickly. It was loose sand, so that was not easy. The pilots were still in these buggies. They were up to their shoulders in the water and the buggies were already starting to float. Fortunately, we were able to get them out in time.”
Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco stayed even longer to help a third Red Bull buggy. It was stuck on the “riverbank”, but the ever-widening river also threatened that buggy. This one was also pulled out by Janus. Of course, they are trying to reclaim the time they lost with these rescue activities. Team owner Gerard De Rooy immediately started working on that.
So a lot has happened and a lot is unclear. Only eight trucks have reached CP3. The official results are still awaited, but of the eight trucks that reached CP3, Macik is the fastest with Janus van Kasteren in seventh place.
Fellow Team de Rooy drivers Mitchel and Martin van den Brink are currently in third and fifth place. At the last measuring point before CP3 it is the Dutchman Gert Huzink who recorded the fastest time.
The organization will have to make many decisions before the final result is known. So, keep an eye on our social media for the most up-to-date news.
Results
All race drivers have finished the route!
511 Mitchel probably has the fastest time… followed by 506 Martin and 502 Janus.
Still waiting for official results
Rally stage
| Stage Rank | Number | Driver | Rally stage time | Time gap to first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 511 | Mitchel van den Brink | waiting… | waiting… | |
| 506 | Martin van den Brink | waiting… | waiting… | |
| 502 | Janus van Kasteren | waiting… | waiting… |
Overall rally competition Trucks
After rally stage 3 finished, below standings of our rallytrucks
| Overall Rank | Number | Driver | Rally overall time | Gap to first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 502 | Janus van Kasteren | waiting… | waiting… |
| 4 | 506 | Martin van den Brink | waiting… | waiting… |
| 11 | 511 | Mitchel van den Brink | waiting… | waiting… |
| X | 504 | Vick Versteijnen | dnf | dnf |
Videos
No video from Rallymaniacs today… Janus was busy restoring his penalty for the day.
Video by Omroep Brabant
Video by Redbull Rally about “the river in the desert”
Photos
Photos from photographers Rallymaniacs, MMPhoto, Fotop and Ronald Loedeman 😎
Tomorrow the Dakar Rally continues with stage number four. Start and finish are in Ha’il. The stage will cover 425 kilometers and, in addition to various dunes, will also put the navigators to work.