The road to Al Duwadimi, which contained the first dune fields of this edition, set the riders and crews on a course to the geographical heart of Saudi Arabia.

The dunes were not tough or numerous enough to shake up the standings; instead, the entrants had to put their navigational flair to good use to get out of one maze after another, in addition to marshalling their handling skills to overcome this 462 km long, globally fast special.

Press release

Ladies Team de Rooy FPT satisfied after second stage which had it all

The second stage of the Dakar Rally was another long day for Anja van Loon’s team. Without color cracks, Anja, Floor Maten and Marije van Ettekoven drove through the dunes, which at times were quite mean. On a bad stone path the threesome shook so much that the laughter shot in. In short, three satisfied ladies after another tough day.

“We really had it all today,” says Anja. “Sand, trails, stones and dunes. In the first dune section there were some mean dunes. At two dunes we needed a second attempt to get to the top, but otherwise it went completely well. The second dune section was shorter and easier so we got through that quickly.”

Besides dunes, there were again many rocks and navigation was not always easy. “We bounced so much in the truck on a bad path. Everything hurt from now on and it made the three of us laugh. The navigation wasn’t always easy either and we had to do a little searching here and there. But that’s part of it and everyone has it. So we are very satisfied!”

Tomorrow the third stage is scheduled. This one will go from Al Duwadimi to Al Salamiya over a stage of 438 kilometers. It is also the first part of the marathon stage, after the finish the Iveco Powerstar may be worked on for a maximum of 2 hours. So it promises to be another tough day.

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