In the ninth stage, victory for the Renault hybrid in the trucks, in the hands of Gert Huzink. The day was particularly close, with the top three separated by less than five minutes, and Martin Macik continues to be the leader of the race.
At the end of the over 400km timed, Huzink (Jongbloed Dakar Team/Renault) beat Macik (MM Technology/Iveco) by only 1m32s. Both were penalized: 20 seconds and 10 seconds, respectively. In third place was Ales Loprais (Instaforex Loprais Praga) at 4m37s, with Mitchel van den Brink (Eurol Rallysport/Iveco) in fourth and Jaroslav Valtr (Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing) in fifth.
After another day where he managed to gain time against the chasing pack, Macik leads the overall standings by 1h54m42s ahead of Loprais, with van den Brink in third. Janus van Kasteren (Boss Machinery Team de Rooy FPT/Iveco) and Vick Versteijnen (Versteijnen Truck Racing/Iveco) continue to close the top five. Huzink is in 12th place after today’s victory.
Top ten of Stage 9:
Top ten overall:
