Nani Roma, after Lategan avoids a costly mistake: ‘Today was one of those days in Dakar where you had to save them’

Nani Roma are doing dakar Very calculating. He takes risks when he has to, and that consistency is key to becoming the best Spaniard in the overall standings after eight stages. pilot of Ford was third, only 7 minutes and 15 seconds behind Al Attiyah.Leader for now.

But the first stage of the second week of the world’s toughest rally was anything but easy for the Catalan. The man from Forgerol struggled from the start, but avoided the mistakes made by Henk Lategan towards the end of the stage and took the stage and provisional lead. Nani broke part of the Raptor.However, I was able to continue without wasting too much time.

“It was one of those days that you had to save. It was one of those days that you had to overcome in the Dakar. At 70km I had a little problem and I couldn’t reverse or go into neutral. So if I had had a puncture it would have been a problem. And then at the end, at 50km, I finally think: A strong impact hit the groove, damaging the shock absorber and rear differential.. One day it saved me, but well, something happens every day here. Therefore, when disaster strikes, the important thing is to rescue such situations,” explained Nani, who arrived at the camp.

”I believe the same place where I broke also broke the late gun. I think it was there. And the rest of the stage was very fast, with some sand dunes and the rest mostly flat. I managed the rocky part and slowed down quite a bit to avoid a puncture.

strategy

For Nani, it’s important not to gain too much time one day and lose too much time the next. It is necessary to apply ointment daily. And warn sailors, the next three days of Dakar are the three most important days of the rally.

“Well, today I tried to ride the yo-yo without being too extreme. The yo-yo was a little different for Lategan. He would have won today because Lategan would have come first. Tomorrow he would have been first. But now he’s in the middle and that’s fine, because you’re there. That’s how it’s already worked out for me. Lategan will be behind me too. So it’s good to be in the same group, more or less. The 10th is the day for me to do my best.”

family support

Rosa Romero is Maria Romero’s co-pilot, so Nani is with her partner in the camp. But they showed him a video showing his family in Spain supporting him, and he couldn’t help but cry emotional tears.

[+] Watch this moving video dedicated to Nani Roma.

video

“There’s a lot of emotion here. There’s a lot of ups and downs in this race. This takes away the adrenaline, the stress of the day. When I receive a video of my family that I haven’t seen in days…tears flow. Thank you, everything is appreciated. Above all, family support is the most important thing in this life. To my family, to my people, because at the end of the day it’s a race, it’s a sport. “What matters is the people at home,” he concluded.