The first proper desert stage

Finally! For the first time, we had the feeling today to contest a proper, classical Dakar leg. The stage of 383 kilometres from Zouerat to Atar was quite demanding: After rough and solid tracks, there was a stony trial pass. Afterwards, we stormed into the sea of dunes, and after the third Checkpoint, there was a so-called chott which is a dry bed of a former lake in a valley. 

The stage was equally demanding for my co-driver Andreas Schulz who did a perfect navigation. After Grégoire de Mevius retired, we are on third spot now. Our stage was faultless and we were the second quickest car on the road. It is therefore still the more amazing that our own team-mate Hiroshi Masuoka beat us today by five minutes. He drove at full risk, even on blind crests and dunes where you can't see the downhill section. For him, it paid off for now - he leads by almost 12 minutes now.

Tomorrow, there is the rest day. In terms of the calendar, it is mid-rally time already, but the toughest sections of the Dakar Rally are still to come. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next stages.

Find current results on the Dakar website  or on the Mitsubishi website.