Valtr Lays Phoenix, Rescuer Kolomý Ranks Fourth

The tenth stage was one of the most demanding of the whole race this year. Surprisingly the stage winner was a Renault driven by Pascal De Baar, not any hot leader of the race. It was because most of the leading crews strayed, including the first ranking pilot of the truck category De Rooy. The organizers prepared a navigation riddle for the day and that together with the high temperatures dealt the cards of the overall ranking considerably. Two Kamazs were caught in the dune field long after the end of the defined limit of the stage. Both pilots of our team decently managed the navigation issues. Youth won today over old-age experience when the younger navigator, René Kilian, was able to navigate Fat Boy to the fourth rank despite all the rescue missions the crew fulfilled on the route.

"Today´s stage was very demanding for all three hundred kilometres were situated in dunes. We again had a stone in the steering but luckily for a short time only. We were quite successful in the dunes and I was surprised that despite all the rescue services we provided we still managed to rank high in the stage. One of the subjects of our rescue missions was Jarda lying on the side, whom we helped to stand up and continue in the race. But we do not regret the loss. We are rather happy that both of our trucks are still in the race. The truck works well and so we hope we will be able to continue in the today set tempo tomorrow as well," said the fourth ranking Martin Kolomý in the bivouac.

In addition to the rescue mission targeted on Jarda Valtr at 150th kilometre the crew of Martin Kolomý also towed the son of the oldest participant in this year´s race, the Japanese Sugawara. He came to express his thanks to Martin after arrival in the bivouac and did not appear with empty hands, bringing team colours of the Japanese Hino team to the whole helpful Czech crew. Jaroslav Valtr made a bed for his Phoenix in the dunes today in the effort to get away from their grip. The truck was only returned to its wheels by the Tatra of Martin Kolomý, who showed the team spirit by his help. Valtr was very sorry for the mistake he had made for he could have gained a lot from this stage. "This stage was very nice. However, at its beginning we lost a lot by straying when we could not find a navigation point for forty minutes. After that we gained a decent tempo, though. We met a lot of cars on the way but we successfully overtook all of them. Unfortunately about mere twenty kilometres before the finish our Phoenix was tired and decided to lie down on the dune pillow. Luckily twenty five minutes later Martin passed by and pulled us out. Of course we regret the loss but it was another lesson for me to learn. The truck works faultlessly and so I am satisfied," said Jarda Valtr in the finish.

Jirka Stross would deserve the Czech Lion prize for his work with the movie camera. So far his camera mounted on his helmet has made perfect recordings of the burning vehicle of Van Den Brink, wheel replacement or navigation of Phoenix through a forest after route closure by a trapped truck. Today he added nice shots of the lying Phoenix and its subsequent lifting up to the wheels. The last three stages are still ahead of the participants to this year´s rally and although his crew certainly wishes no more shots like these to be made by his camera, the fans are absolutely carried away by his recordings revealing a brand new view, and not only of Dakar.

After exhausting all his strengths in the previous stage Tomáš Ouředníček eventually decided to continue in the race and that was a good decision. He achieved his to-date maximum in this year´s race, represented by 36th rank. This morning we agreed to start and finish at the first control point. But when we reached it all ran smoothly, the car worked faultlessly and so we changed our decision and continued in the race. The worst thing was again our catastrophic starting position. But in the end I could even enjoy today´s demanding dunes of Fiambala," was Tomáš´s judgement expressed in the bivouac.

Today the pilots face the eleventh stage in the total length of 722 kilometres with 431 kilometres of the special section.

More on web site: www.buggyra.com.