Dakar Rally 2017. Day 2 Resistencia, Argentina – San Miguel De Tucuman, Argentina. Servers.com Stage

Dakar Rally 2017. Day 2 Resistencia, Argentina – San Miguel De Tucuman, Argentina. Servers.com Stage

The second day of the Dakar 2017 for Cyprus Team was highlighted by enduring the longest drive up to date. Just like the first it consisted of two stages: special and liaison one. This time however the total length of the track was estimated at 800+ kilometres.

Starting at sunrise, the special stage proved to be exceptionally interesting. After some first 100 kilometres of driving through a difficult terrain the pilot of the team, Mr. Roman Starikovich, noticed that the clutching had a small problem. Despite that malfunction it was ultimately decided by him and Bert Heskes to go on with the race. That proved to be overly fruitful, since the team managed to overtake a few competitors ahead and climb up the ranking ladder.

The liaison stage that followed was unfortunately marked with the first penalty imposed on the team for over-speeding, by adding 30 minutes to their time. However, that didn’t stop the team from overtaking most cars within the reach, leaving in front only those vehicles, which were much more powerful and sophisticated than the Desert Warrior itself. For the last 90 km, Roman and Bert also demonstrated a true sportsmanship spirit, when agreeing to tow a French team of Beeson and Seillet for the last 90 kilometres, helping them to finish the stage.

The final position of the team is currently 57th, a very impressive start for the first ever Cyprus Team at the toughest motorsport competition in the world!

Today we will see Cyprus Team competing in the third stage of The Dakar 2017, a 700+ kilometer passage from Tucuman to San Salvador De Jujuy, that will mark the beginning of the 4900m climb to the top of the Bolivian Andes.

Stay tuned!