Stage 5 Foum Zgud – M’hamid
Stage 5
Stage is finished… Janus is now also safely returned to bivaque.
Page updated on april 27 2023 23:22 UTC
Stage info
Today we travel a round trip in ‘Foum Zguid’ and race a special stage of 388km.
Anja van Loon long on her way to
stage victory until the last dunes
About 250 kilometers long, Anja van Loon is the fastest truck during the fifth day of the Morocco Desert Challenge.
However, the last dunes cause the Iveco Powerstar to topple over and it takes them a while to get help from a colleague. As a result, Anja loses just over two hours, but she definitely shows that she can keep up with the truck top.
“This was really cool,” says Anja. “We just drove well and it went well. We didn’t experience anything until those last dunes, so it’s such a shame that things went wrong there. It’s part of the learning process, but it sucks of course. Tomorrow we will try again.”
Erik van Loon is also very proud of his wife’s achievements. “She is doing really, really well. I really enjoy seeing this. She is here to learn and in that process these things belong. It is therefore good that she is experiencing it now, but the speed is really good. In fact, she is constantly in the top three and this rally is really not easy. Hopefully she will give herself a nice birthday present tomorrow.”
The sixth stage is a loop around M’Hamid. The stage of 343 kilometers starts with very fast and challenging pistes. Then the dunes of Erg Chegaga follow for about 25 kilometers and that is followed by tracks at Lake Iriqui. Towards the finish, the stage remains challenging and diverse.
Technology lets Van Kasteren down
The beginning was great, then it was a bit disappointing and today the mechanical bad luck devil finally came to look at the corner.
The power source has failed and could not be repaired during the test. Unfortunately, the curtain falls for Boss Machinery Team De Rooy in this Morocco Desert Challenge.
The truck has since been recovered. Crew and truck are now brought back to the bivouac. No further news at the moment.
So to be continued…
‘Stage 5 Foum Zguid – M’hamid’ Results
| Stage Rank | Number | Driver | Time | Gap to first | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 508 | Vick Versteijnen | 4h57m18s | 12m54s | – |
| 8 | 518 | Anja van Loon | 7h03m49s | 2h19m25s | – |
| DNF | 503 | Janus van Kasteren | DNF :'( | – | – |
Overall ranking after stage 5
| Stage Rank | Number | Driver | Time | Gap to first | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 508 | Vick Versteijnen | 21h05m29s | – | 3m00s |
| 6 | 518 | Anja van Loon | 26h02m27s | +4h56m58s | 10m00s |
| DNF | 503 | Janus van Kasteren | DNF |
Photos
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