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Issue #13:January 20, 2024
On January 18, Stage 11 of the 2024 Dakar Rally was held between AlUla and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia. With the finish line of the rally coming up on January 19, this will be last long SS (competition section). The SS started in a ravine 6 km south of the bivouac in AlUla. The stage largely consisted of gravel terrain with large rocks, an obstacle for production cars which have a lower minimum ground clearance. So, to avoid the rocks, the cars needed to drive outside of the ruts while continuously looking for a speedy line. Tight sections with boulders to the right and left with severe dust and a high risk of punctures made this a psychologically draining stage.
TLC braced themselves and approached the stage calmly and carefully. Ronald Basso and Jean-Michel Polato in Car #501 were slowing down in the second half of the SS as they drove through a narrow section with boulders to their left and right when they were rear-ended by a truck from behind. Fortunately, the crew were uninjured, and their car only suffered some damage to the rear; their driving was unaffected, and they continued in the stage and were 112th overall in the Cars category and 1st in the Stock (Production Car) category. Meanwhile, Akira Miura and Mayeul Barbet in Car #500 continued to drive with caution to avoid damage to the body, and apart from a puncture caused by rocks, they had no trouble. They arrived at the finish 113th overall in the Cars category and 2nd in the Stock (Production Cars) category. As a result, their cumulative rankings are as follows: Car #500 is 80th overall in the Car category and has a firm grip on 1st place in the Stock (Production Car) category. Car #501 is 112th overall and 2nd in the category.
After reaching the finish, teams took a 103 km liaison (transfer section) to Yanbu. They arrived at the bivouac on the east side of town along the coast just after 8 pm. Yanbu is a port city on the Red Sea coast about 350 km north of Jeddah, and on January 19, it is where the 175km loop course will start, which will be the final stage of the rally. After the final stage, a closing ceremony will be held at the podium in a bivouac.
Miura (driver): Most of the course consisted of large rocks rolling on the wadi (dried-up river beds) and narrow passageways through boulders. We had to drive carefully the whole way to prevent damage to the underbody; to be honest, it was tiring.
Basso (driver): We were slowing down to avoid rocks when we were suddenly hit by a truck and overtaken without being warned by horn or sentinel (a wireless system that notifies the car ahead of an intention to overtake). It was a real shame.