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Issue #9:January 9, 2023
January 8 marked the final day of the first half of the rally. The competition stage took participants from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh over a distance of 346km, and the Land Cruiser 300 cars in the production car category finished the SS with the following results: Akira Miura and Laurent Lichtleuchter in car #246 finished in 104th place overall in the car category and 1st place in the production car category. Ronald Basso and Jean-Michel Polato in car #250 finished in 105th place overall in the car category and 2nd in the production car category. With these results, the cumulative rankings for car #250 are 98th overall and 1st in the production car category, and for car #246, 124th place overall and 2nd in the production car category. TLC has maintained the top two positions in the production car category. Both cars have made it to the end of the first half of the rally. Participating in the same category, Ibrahim Almuhna (Nissan Patrol) was following behind in 3rd place, but left the rally on January 7, leaving the two TLC cars to continue in the category.
The SS on January 8 was 346km, a short version of the second half of the originally planned loop course starting from Al Duwadimi which was supposed to take place on January 7. A 95km liaison from the marathon bivouac in Al Duwadimi took participants west to the mountains where the SS started. In the early stages of the route, road surfaces changed from rocky tracks to sandy ruts. Followed by about 40km of dunes, then everything from wide gravel tracks to sandy ruts in the mountains in the second half. Towards the end, sand dunes made another appearance, making this a route with many changes.
After the SS on the previous day, both TLC cars had undergone team inspections and maintenance at the service park, so they drove with care through this SS. However, the course was very challenging, and both cars got stuck in the dunes. In addition, car #250 suffered a puncture. Car #246 had two punctures and one slow puncture, which meant they used up all of their spare tires. In the end, they borrowed a spare from car #250 and safely made it to the finish. After completing the SS, both cars continued to Riyadh on a lengthy 383km liaison to Riyadh. The cars arrived at the bivouac at around 8:30 p.m.
There will be no racing on the rest day in Riyadh tomorrow on January 9. While this day might be a rest for some, it is a busy day for the mechanics, who will be working hard to prepare the vehicles to make sure they’re ready for the second half of the rally. TLC mechanics got to work as soon as the cars arrived at the bivouac.
Miura (driver): A lot happened today. We had three punctures and some trouble with our shocks. This first half alone felt as long as an entire Dakar Rally. We’ll continue to go hard in the second half of the rally and make sure we make it to the finish.
Basso (driver): I managed to drive calmly today. We had one puncture and got stuck in the dunes at the end, but we didn’t lose too much time getting out.