05.01.2023 5th stage Ha’il > Ha’il (EN)

Today, new loop around the Bivouac of Ha’il, which means no repacking of the stuff.

The sun is always present and the cold also! One remains close to 0°.

A rather short connection to reach the start of the special stage which turned out to be a pure pleasure for our couple. A very nice stage and the learnings of the last days make them progress. They finished 26th out of 85 competitors in the race (2 withdrawals in the Classic today)

The regularity tests are almost « fingers in the nose », especially since the track is more sandy than rocky. It is therefore less brittle and less physical, both for the Buggy and for the driver / co-driver.

The navigation was much more challenging and all of Fred’s experience from previous rallies was put to use.

The whole stage was faster too, it’s the first time they can drive frequently at 80 / 85 kms per hour. Which is pretty fast when you know what kind of terrain they are driving on!

Magali sums up this stage in one sentence: « A lot of fun, without hammering the Buggy and noticing that our competitive souls are waking up… ».

Dans le Dakar Classic, ce n’est pas le temps qui fait le classement mais le nombre de points. Ceux ci étant des « pénalités » l’objectif est d’en avoir le moins possible. La catégorie dans laquelle concourent Magali et Fred est exemptée des passages dans les dunes, sauf s’ils le veulent (mais sans conséquences pour le classement). Celles du jour étant tout de même assez importantes et n’étant qu’au tiers du parcours total du Rallye, ils ont décidé de ne pas les faire et ainsi se permettre de rentrer tôt au Bivouac.

Sur la liaison, une tente de nomade sur le bord de route, un enfant qui fait signe… Il n’en faut pas plus pour que nos amis s’arrêtent et finissent par partager un thé. Peu d’échange, beaucoup de respect mais surtout un moment de partage qui est une des grandes valeurs de nos renards!

Thus, back at about 1:30 pm (local time), they will be able to go to the canteen of the bivouac, to rest, to take a shower and to go to be massaged, for the 1st time since the beginning of the competition.

And like every day, mechanics with a lot of preventive operations, the objective being not to have big operations to do, since they don’t have the assistance of a mechanic. Even if the Dakar solidarity plays a role, but when a mechanic has finished working on his car…

Tonight’s briefing seems to be important, some modifications on the rest of the route are expected… We will know more tomorrow!