The opening stage of the Dakar Rally brought great drama for the Buggyra competitors. Aliyyah Koloc drove much of the Special Stage without a windscreen.
MONACO, FRANCE, January 5, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The young Red-Lined EVO T1+ driver didn't stop and she managed to expertly finish the race with a relatively small margin despite the loss. Martin Šoltys in the Tatra Buggyra EVO3 repeated his fourth place in the prologue, while newcomer Karel Poslední in the Tatra Phoenix was 15th in the loop with start and finish in Bisha.Aliyyah Koloc, Buggyra ZM Racing's driver, kept within sight of the Top 20 until the 182nd km intermediate stage. However, problems on the track meant a final 36th place in the elite Ultimate category. She still maintained her gap at 30 minutes.
The young rider remains optimistic. "The track was very narrow in places. We didn't bump into anything strong, we were just brushing branches. Unfortunately, one of them damaged our window so much that we had to kick it out. But even without it I tried to keep a fast pace."
Co-driver Sébastien Delaunay praised that Aliyyah was able to ride cleanly. "We lost time because it was drizzling. On top of that, we had a flat tire. We made a clean run at the limit," explained Frenchman.
Martin Šoltys was happy to have coped so well with the demanding stage and the complications that arose. "The track was fast today and the terrain was terrible. At the beginning we went quite fast, in the middle there were a lot of trial sections. It was so narrow that we could barely get through. The trees were the worst. The truck is terribly ragged, but I tried to avoid the branches. We got two punctures, but we blew them out all the way. My neck hurts, all three of us are quite tired," admitted the driver in Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing colours.
His on-board mechanic Tomáš Šikola was also very busy. "We have recharged the truck from all sides. Both from above and from the side. In my opinion, even the cars must be badly broken. We had two punctures on such trial sections. The second time I was blowing up and we made it to the neutralisation, where the truck went down on the ground. Martin got right into it, he's just a racer," praised the Šoltys driver.
The truck of his teammate Karel Poslední also took a beating. "Well, what can I say, it's my first Dakar and it's challenging from the opening kilometres. But I'm really enjoying it," said the enthusiastic rookie.
The first half of one of the biggest tests of this year's Dakar, the Chrono48 stage, starts on Sunday. This format combines speed with strategy. On the first day, they have to reach one of the selected points in a set time, from where they start the next part. This allows them to adapt their tactics to the conditions and recovery.
Buggyra Organisation
Buggyra Organisation
+377 80 09 44 59
buggyra@buggyra.com
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