Machacek showed team spirit and helped Aliyyah Koloc on the track. Valtr drove last kilometrs without brakes
The Buggyra ZM Racing crews were greeted by challenging dunes on today's sixth stage of the Dakar. The difficult conditions brought the two crews in their Buggyra Can-Am DV 21s togetheras Josef Machacek helped Aliyyah Koloc with a shaft change. Jaroslav Valtr struggled with the brakes at the end of timed section, Róbert Kasák put his Tatra on its side in the dunes, while Martin Šoltys enjoyed the sand today. Radovan Kazarka holds the third position overall in his category of Dakar Classic.
Josef Machacek is still in tenth position in the T3 - Light Prototypes category after finishing 25th in today’s stage. Aliyyah Koloc was right behind him in 26th place and is now thirty-seventh overall. Martin Soltys came eighth today which still puts him eighth overall in the truck category. Jaroslav Valtr finished 11th today due to a delay, but is still fifth overall.
The problem with the car of the 18-year-old Dakar debutant Aliyyah Koloc happened at the 100th kilometer. However, as she had started just one minute ahead of Josef Machacek, the crew of the second Bugygra ZM Academy entry was able to help her immediately.
"A shaft broke at the 100th kilometer. We had to replace it, but Josef (Machacek) and David (Schovánek) helped us. Thank you very much. We lost a lot of time, but I really liked the sandy stage. It was difficult to get across the dunes. We saw a lot of broken-down cars around us," Aliyyah Koloc described the difficult stage, which ended with an unplanned longer drive to Riyadh as the organizers had changed the order of the stages.
Josef Machacek was satisfied with his performance in the dunes. "The stage was beautiful today, completely in the dunes. It was challenging, we took it easier on the fast flats for a while, but then we entered the dunes again, where you have to be very careful. As we drove a bit slower, we arrived at night," said the six-time Dakar winner.
Jaroslav Valtr enjoyed the pitfalls of the legendary rally to the full this time. "The stage was beautiful. At the 30th kilometer, I decided to change the belt in case the truck didn't start, so that Robo Kasak could help us . After that, all went well. Only when we were looking for a navigation point, we drove into a dune hole where the Tatra was swinging back and forth. So we had to back out of it calmly," explained the driver starting for Buggyra ZM Racing his day.
At the very end of the 358 km long stage, another technical issue suddenly arose . "After the neutralisation, we had a quite a good pace but for the last ten kilometers there was no air in the brakes. When we came down the last dune, I hit the brakes, but nothing happened. It was probably the compressor. We were driving carefully in manual model. I was in a big hurry to get to the finish line before darkness. Now we have to fix the compressor, it's going to be a long night," said the Tatra Phoenix pilot, and after being informed about the change in the competition programme, he just said, "Tomorrow is the marathon stage? That will be funny."
His teammate Martin Šoltys experienced a calmer day. "I liked the stage very much because it was not bumpy like yesterday. There were beautiful dunes, it was really great," said the pilot of the Tatra 815.
Róbert Kasák experienced a critical moment just before the end of the stage when he put his Tatra Phoenix on its side. Fortunately, the crew was unharmed and after the truck returned to all four wheels, they were able to continue. The result was the 23rd time in the leg and the same position belongs to the Tatra Buggyra Slovakia crew overall.
"It was already dark and you are not supposed to drive in the dark. There was a very high dune to get the waypoint. I didn't have enough power to jump over the dune. As soon as we stood still, gravity kicked in and the Tatra lay on its side. A MAN put us back on the wheels. The window and the mirror on my side got a little bit damaged, one plastic and the back of it is a little bit scratched," described the Slovak pilot the drama in the dunes.
Radovan Kazarka drove to fourth place in the Dakar Classic and holds third position overall. "Apart from the ridiculously long shift, it was pretty good. There could have been more terrain than shifts today. The stage was fast. There was also a mountain trial, which is very good for Tatra at and for us too. We are looking forward to the marathon stage. It's a new experience, we'll tackle it. We don't mind the rain. At most we will swim," said the Tatra Puma pilot with a laugh.
