Date: January 16th

Stage: Stage 9

Stage Distance: Liaison > 222 km – Special > 417 km

Stage Ranking: 6th in the QUAD category

Race summary:  The participants of the Dakar Rally had another difficult task on Tuesday: after starting in Hail, the athletes had to reach the city of Al Ula. Of course, it was not the shortest route – in total they had to overcome a 417 kilometer stage and 222 km of liaisons. Having reached the finish line, Antanas Kanopkinas said that the days are more and more difficult.

“Today there were stones, gravel and rocks on the track. It was just smashing everything – quad, hands, you name it. I couldn’t count how many “candles” I made on the track,” said the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team athlete after the finish and mentioned that the situation was complicated by the fact that almost the entire stage had to be driven only with rear-wheel drive.

“With the front driven wheels, you press the accelerator while still in the air and when the front wheels land, they level the quad, and now, when the front wheels land, it immediately goes sideways. There were a lot of such va banque situations today. The track was very tiring again. I was already tired yesterday, but compared to what I experienced today, yesterday was not so bad”, A. Kanopkinas open heartedly said that there were moments when he wanted to stop, because he started to feel nauseous due to fatigue.

Despite the difficulties, the team is happy to have passed the ninth stage. On Wednesday, the organizers will definitely not let the athletes relax – they will have to overcome the loop stage, which will consist of 371 kilometers, as well as 241 kilometers of liaisons. Participants will have to navigate the extremely rocky surroundings of the city of Al Ula, so once again they will have to skillfully combine caution with speed.