Carlos Sainz: “In the end I was driving like a mother and in survival mode”

After a hard day, the sun always comes out. after that stage 2, Carlos Sainz Several punctures disrupted my strategic plan, and I couldn’t hide my frustration at losing more time than expected. but, dakar Don’t take anything for granted. And the next day it was proven. Many of our competitors lost a lot of time because the course was unremarkable, with many areas of very hard stones, and they were in front on specials that were very complicated in terms of navigation.

Carlos Sainz He knew how to react and showed the best rhythm all day to shorten the time. However, he suffered two punctures in the final stages. The remaining 60 kilometers were without a spare tire and we had to conserve it as much as possible.

“Today I was in survival mode. After my second puncture I knew I still had 60 kilometers to go until the finish, but the terrain was very rocky so I was probably riding like my mother.”Carlos laughed and began speaking at the finish line, a sight he had never been able to see the day before.

Yes, two punctures cost us some time, but maybe that’s something to celebrate. This is because it eliminates the need to start from the first or second starting position in stage 4, the first half of the marathon stage (without mechanical assistance at the end of the day). This could mean a huge loss of time, so it was something we wanted to avoid at all costs in our original plan.

Finally, everything seemed to be going well as he started the special No. 7 six courses ahead of the other cars. But he should lose time compared to Al Attiyah, Lategan and Loeb who started very slow, but they all gave up a lot of time today. Starting in 7th place, I lose some time, but not by much. In other words, Carlos is alive and well in the fight for the throne. More than yesterday.

“We’ll find out tomorrow, but we have to think about it now.” When asked about plans for Stage 4, he said he did not want to reveal his cards. But as you know, this changes from day to day. Racing is exciting and unpredictable. Nothing can be excluded. Moreover, no one knows exactly how difficult it is to navigate Stage 4.

satisfied and happy

Upon arriving at the bivouac, Carlos Sainz stressed to the Spanish press that although he struggled to reach the finish line, the fact that he suffered a puncture was ultimately a positive factor in his further set back.

“Today was a positive day for us. Tomorrow we have a mandatory marathon stage and the next day there will be no trace of the bike again.” (In stages 4 and 5, the bikes create a different route). But there will be another drama tomorrow.” Because things can change quickly from one day to the next depending on the order of departure and the complexity of the route.

“Anything is fine if it means starting a little between fifth and 10th tomorrow. Reduce the puncture and buy some time, or is it better to have two punctures? In the end we have two seconds in the position with Serradoli (he was one second behind Carlos).” “I would have liked to have lost a few more seconds and finished eighth rather than seventh, but that’s fine.”He explained.

“It’s the third day of the rally. We’re going to be cautious. Tomorrow the yo-yo effect… we start in front and others are behind, so it could be the other way around. Or I think it’ll be the other way around. It was a day with a lot of stones, but one we were able to get through. We ran the last 60 kilometers very slowly without a steering wheel. I’m happy to have arrived and glad to have saved the day.”he pointed out.

“You never know in Dakar. We didn’t expect it to be such a rocky stage. We expected it yesterday when there were a lot of stones… but today… it’s just a bunch of stones at the moment. On top of that, with the puncture problems that we’re all having, things are even more dramatic,” he said, insisting on multiple tire problems that he had warned about from day one.

“Punk… If you’re driving very slowly, you’ll get a flat tire without knowing why. It’s very frustrating. This is because if you hit a rock, you would normally expect it to make a hole. It’s true that there are a lot of stones, but it’s clear that we all have a problem and we have to fix the tires.”he lamented.

“Especially when you can’t control it. When you get a puncture, when you don’t… it’s a bit of a lottery ticket when you’re going really slow and you get a puncture,” he told MD when asked if he struggled in the last few kilometers to the finish line without a spare tire.