WORLDCUP leader Vladimir Vasilyev today suffered another blow, losing not only the turbopressure in his engine but also the stage ánd his position in the Worldcup as he will not be able to finish on the podium of the Pharaons Rally. Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar move up one place in the overall ranking and suddenly see the opportunity to finish third. Marek Dabrowski currently holds that place but he has a hard time keeping up with the fast Dutchmen in the Mini. ‘I pushed and pushed!’ he said today, ‘But there was no way I could get closer, I even lost nine minutes on Erik!’
‘This car can take a beating!’ Wouter smiles, ‘For me there are no words to explain what happened today, I think Erik and I will break before the car does. It gives me a lot of confidence. We need only ten minutes to beat Dabrowski tomorrow and you can be sure we will try!’
Rafal Sonik is lonely at the top in the Quadranking, riding together with the first motorbikes and finishing 3 minutes behind Nicolas Cardona, who wins the stage today. ‘Rafal might be fast but we have a lot of work to do on the quad,’ his good friend Piotr Pawela says. ‘He hit a big rock, twisted the frame breaking some of the tubes! Tomorrow Sonik will ride again, aiming for the finish in Caïro.
With one hour lead Juan Carlos Salvatierra was too comfortable on his bike today, crashing and damaging the Speedbrain 450. ‘Maybe I was too relaxed, but luckily I managed to finish.’ Even though he lost a lot of time Juan Carlos still has a comfortable lead in the Pharaons Rally, ahead of Nicolas Cardona and Rafael Eraso.
It is fantastic riding
‘It is fantastic riding we can do here!’ Nicolas Cardona is happy at the finish, taking the stage today with his Yamaha WR450F. ‘For us the Pharaons Rally is special, we started here for the first time in a big rallyraid event in 2011. The scenery is gorgeous, you feel like you are on the moon. It is a strange terrain here in Egypt. In South America you are never alone, in the Dakar there are always people around you. Here in Africa, you have to do it yourself, there is no one on the stage!’
Stefano Turchi and Stefano Chiussi battle for the podium in the open class, staying together on todays stage. ’10 KM before the finish I was stupid and I crashed,’ Chiussi says, ‘I was distracted and I fell, dislocating my shoulder. The pain was terrible and Turchi came back to help me. He held my arm and I pulled my body to relocate the shoulder. I have to thank him for staying with me until the finish of the stage, and I hope I can start tomorrow to secure my first place in the open class.’
Miroslav Zapletal is racing with the Hummer H3 and has used almost all his spare tyres. ‘After the organizer approached us in Qatar telling about the race we decided to go. The servicetruck came directly from Qatar and for us it is good to be here. We cannot push anymore because we did not pack enough spare parts.’ Maciej Marton, codriver of Miroslav is very enthousiastic about the race. ‘Pharaons is different, they use it as slogan and for me today was an example of that. We had a fast stage with long stretches of rocky piste, leading to small dunes and corridors in between the sand, it was just beautifull!’
Wessel Bosman Hero of the Pharoans
The hero of the Pharaons Rally this year is South African Wessel Bosman, who rode his KTM 450 from Cape Town to the event. ‘Today I finished one more stage! I am no longer the same, my riding changed and I have changed.’ Wessel rides carefully, takes his time with the roadbook but manages to finish every day. ‘It is not about speed but about confidence. For me this rally is a challenge I have taken up and for which I have great respect. I think you can do almost anything as long as you don’t do something stupid.’
Tomorrow it’s the endgame and everyone is looking at XRaid and Overdrive: who will win the Pharaons? Nasser Al-Attiyah will give his maximum tomorrow, Yazeed Al-Rahji will chase him like no other and behind the first two follow Marek Dabrowski and Erik van Loon who fight their own battle for place three. The last stage from Baharia to Cairo is one from the desert to the delta, from the endless nothing and the beauty of Egypt to the busy and vibrant city of Caïro and the famous Pyramids. Tomorrow evening we will report about the final results direclty from the ceremonial finish of the Pharaons Rally!
author: ‘Niels Hatzmann, World4x4.org / Dutch Rally Press