Repairs, a desert storm, no GPS

Today's leg around Tichit was one of the toughest tests for Andreas and me in this year's Dakar Rally. This loop had a length of 450 kilometres and was the second leg where no GPS system was allowed. A desert storm reduced visibility considerably, making our task not exactly easier.

And when the prop shaft broke, we stood for a while. Thanks to the skills of Andreas who is a technician and works for ages as a mechanic in rallying, we didn't lose too much time. When we arrived, it was clear that we were no longer in touch with the top positions. So it was all the more surprising when we realized that we missed second spot overall in the interim classification by only 13 seconds as Kenjiro Shinozuka's car suffered a broken ball joint in the suspension. Whilst Hiroshi Masuoka increased his lead to 52 minutes, the fight for second place remains intense.

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