Another day gone by and Albert Llovera-Àlex Haro (Buggy MD Rallye) have overcome once more all the problems that have arisen, today at the beginning of the stage, and have managed to reach the bivouac in Iquique, right next to the Pacific Ocean. They have finished the 6th stage, Antofagasta-Iquique, in 4h35’29”, 49th in the general ranking. The special stage, which run parallel to the Chilean coast, was divided into two parts: 69 km and then 180 km, separated by a road section 26 km long.
Victory was once again for Qatar driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, who remains as favourite to win the race at the end back in Buenos Aires. He finished the stage in 2h37’18”.
Today’s special stage did not start very well for Llovera-Haro: During the initial road section, we had a flat tire, so we only had one spare tire to finish the stage. Afterwards, in a very narrow ascent with a lot of fesh-fesh, we encountered a car stuck and a bit later we were the ones stuck. The first trucks overtook us, so we had to drive coping with the trail of dust they left behind until the special’s brake. All in all, a start of the day very complicated. The situation improved noticeably with the change of landscape: The tracks were a lot more rally like and we managed to overtake the trucks. The pace was good and most of all very steady. This allowed us to get back up some spots in the ranking. In the dunes, we only had a small issue that we solved very quickly. It was important not to make mistakes and we didn’t, despite starting from a backward position. There are now only two stages before the rest day on Monday (12th January), but Llovera-Haro will have to face a new difficulty of the race: It will all depend on how we reach Uyuni tomorrow. It is the marathon stage and we won’t get the mechanics at the end. The two of us and some other participant that might lend a hand will have to get the buggy ready to start the next’s day stage. Basically, our main goal right now is to be in Iquique on Monday (12th) to enjoy a day off.
The 7th stage will be a very tough challenge for all the teams that are still in the competition of this year’s Dakar. After the start in Iquique (Chile), they will drive a long road section, around 400 km, which will take them to an altitude of 3700 metres into Bolivian soil. The 321 km special stage will start at this altitude and reach 4000 metres, taking them through some feared tracks all the way to the bivouac in Uyuni, Bolivia, a country that receives for the first time the cars of the Dakar. As it has been said, this time, the teams will not have their mechanics to repair the engines, only drivers and navigators will be allowed to touch the cars.
 Press service.
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