“We’re still alive.”said Carlos Sainz to his team members. ford m sport When we arrived at our bivouac in Riyadh, after stage 6 and before a well-deserved rest day.

“Of course. Especially after yesterday, thinking about tonight… I said, ‘Well, that was incredible, wasn’t it?’ We were able to retrieve the car, fix the engine and be here today… The car was perfect. I’m very happy.” Express.

The Marilla-born pilot was still amazed at being saved the day before when he believed he would have to abandon the rally due to engine problems, but that, along with a clutch stumble, forced him to make it to the finish line impossible.

On stage 6, Carlos lost time due to three small navigational errors, but reached the capital midway through the rally and celebrated that he was still fighting. He is aware that he is 12 minutes away from Nasse.But he doesn’t think that’s insurmountable in a career where you never know what’s going to happen.

But above all, Carlos Sainz wanted to take his hat off to teammate Nani Roma’s efforts when asked by the MD. Carlos finishes 4th overall at Dakar 2026 Right behind Nani, which Sainz wanted to emphasize “Example” of His struggles on a personal level in recent years. He overcame cancer and then the difficult experience of his son Marc, who was paralyzed at the age of 15 in a motocross accident. Nani, ever the fighter, then showed his best driving in this Dakar, including on the complicated stage 6 where he had to work hard to open the course and minimize losses. And he nailed it, staying eight minutes behind the leaders.

The newspaper told him, “I would like him to dedicate a few words to Nani, who has suffered for the past few years.”

“Nani is a role model. All the problems he’s had, how he overcomes them and how he continues to have enthusiasm, drive and motivation. He’s a role model of an athlete and I’m very happy with how Rally went and having him with me in the team.” To tell you the truth, we are very close and work together. “Let’s see if Ford can help us get the results we all want,” he said.

“How he continues to have that enthusiasm, desire and motivation. He’s a model athlete and I’m very happy with how Larry is going and having him on the team.”

Carlos Sainz

“Life has been tough, but life presents challenges to those who can overcome them. It is clear that Nani has overcome them and is an example.” When MD asked if he owed his life in the Dakar after that shock to the Folgerol driver, he added:

On top of that, “Matador” He highlighted the qualities Joao shows behind the wheel and the good relationships he has within the team.

“He feels good in the car and he’s going fast. We think the Ford team is giving it everything and it’s Nani.”Matthias is also having a very good rally and so is Mitch. I believe we are all very close to each other and have the potential to enhance each other. ”

We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to ask Carlos what questions he needs to ask himself in the mirror after the Dakar to decide whether he wants to continue another year. The question was, “Are you having fun despite the pain?”

“It’s a lot of stress. I didn’t have much time to enjoy it because of the stress. When you’re racing with so many problems, it’s hard to concentrate on driving and give your best performance,” he commented. You must ask him again at the end of this appointment.

happy

“I’m happy with my words, because at one point I thought the Dakar was over. And today the car went well and we still have a week to go. Well, we’re fourth, but we’re still racing and a lot can still happen. And we’ll have to work hard in this second week.”

Key to Week 2

“Well, it’s definitely going to be a marathon stage, so there are two days without bikes (the routes are different, so there’s no bike course). The other two days are long days, each covering over 400km…”

Overview Stage 6

“There were a couple of navigation errors, not too many, but one for a few minutes, the other for another minute, and then another minute at the end… It was high, but I think we did well in terms of pace.”

12 minutes from Nasser Al Attiyah

“Well, it’s not short, but it’s not far either. There’s still a week left and anything can happen.”

No one says goodbye to victory

Well, what we said is coming true. May there be many candidates and very good cars. I believe we said it with good judgment when we said that.

Top 10 at 25 minutes

“I think we can pick up the pace even more in this second week and see more things happen.”