R I YA D H RIYADH
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The Van Groningen’s – father and son William and Wesley with Remco Aangeenbrug in their Iveco while not threatening the leaders of the classification, tackled the stage to be placed 46th at the end of stage 5. The CR6 driven by Dakar 1st timer, Ernest Roberts and Navigator Henry Kohne are racing for the Century Racing Squad. Fifty-six year-old Roberts has competed in the South African Cross-country series against the likes of Baragwanath, Lategan and De Villiers. And Laia Sanz, ‘Queen of the Desert’ has this year switched from 2 wheels to 4 wheels, competing in the X-raid Mini All4 Racing vehicle. Sanz has been victorious in every one of her previous Dakar outings, competing since 2011 on a motorbike.
Husband and wife team Jordi Queralto and Petra Zemankova are 2nd time Dakar competitors after having to withdraw in stage 7 in 2020. This year, they’re back in the T1 category in their “Jeep Tanker”, hoping to make it into the top 20 at the end of the event. In their Can-Am Maverick XRS, Eric Abel and Christian Manez are hoping to beat their 10th position in 2021. The Team BBR/Pole Position 77 started stage 5 in 12th position and are aiming to finish with a single digit place. Abel has been quoted as saying “In Morocco, we saw that we were able to beat the times (of professionals) on certain stages, so why not? We will play our luck to the fullest!” Today’s 421km loop north of Riyadh tested competitors on 4-wheels while the bikes and quads competed on a separate 346-km loop to the east of Riyad. Tomorrow, competitors will swap loops.
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Petronas Team De Rooy had a good showing today with two of the team’s trucks finishing strongly in the top 8.
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