Nani Roma: ‘The main points of the roadbook were wrong’

Nani Roma The second half of the second marathon stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally was not an easy day. The Ford Catalan started off as the rally leader before the start of the day, but was quickly overtaken by Al Attiyah, who emerged at key moments.

The Forgerol driver is third in the rally, so he still has a chance to win. 12 minutes 50 seconds Dakia is from Qatar. Nani admitted that it was one of the most difficult stages of her life and that there were times when she had to go back to avoid sanctions. The spot is controversial because it was poorly marked, according to Nani and co-pilot Alex Haro, and they lost 12 minutes before finding it, the same distance that now separates them from the leader.

“You won’t know here. Everything will turn around here. Look at Carlos today, you see? We’ll change the subject in a second. The Dakar is about having to be very humble and very careful. Don’t get too excited. That’s what it is. And it’s also important not to be upset by what happened now. No, it’s just part of the game. Navigation is part of the rally raid. If someone finds it and we don’t, well… let’s see, In fact, that argument was wrong. There was a difficult to understand note in the roadbook.“He told the MD.

“How was it? In theory we should have gone down and taken the course, but…the point was on the dunes.And Alex says: Here’s the course…and here’s the point…and we’re not. And then at the end of the lap…I lost Nasser by 12 minutes. So I ended up going the other way around the dunes. So I said, “Let’s go find the one on the right.” And then, boom, I did. I think we’ve driven past that circle several times before, found it, turned around and let out the gas. ”

“Because we were going forward, because we were going, we were going… super, super fast. So we have to be happy. And there was a point left on the right side, and we wanted to look for it, look for it, go home. We thought about going home without any points, but I said ‘no’. We went backwards up the dunes and found it. That’s it. ”he said upon arriving at the camp.

“We pushed, but the reality was it was very difficult in front of those white dunes that open the course.”. One of the most difficult things in my life in this career. My neck is pretty tired after taking so many hits, but it is what it is. That’s it. We saw Nasser arrive in the second neutral, but all you have to do is keep shooting. That’s it. Until then, I wouldn’t change what happened, but the summary is good. After all, some tough and difficult marathons, and we live, class and physically live. ”

nacelle margin

Despite still having a chance of a podium finish, Nani recognizes the difficulty of beating a driver of Nasser Al-Attiyah’s stature by more than 12 minutes. Nasser Al-Attiyah has won the Dakar Rally five times and has a wealth of experience in knowing how to manage margins.

”It’s really hard, to be honest, but anything can happen here.. In reality, when I arrived yesterday and looked at the classification, and when I saw where I was leaving this morning, and actually saw the “split,” I couldn’t have imagined it would be this close, right? I quickly caught up with the rider in front of me, so I had very little loss and ended up running as far in front as I could. Therefore, you need to accept what happens to you and move on. That’s it. Tomorrow is another day, and a lot can still happen here. I mean, the car is perfect, the car is really amazing, how it holds up, how it goes, and thank you to all the people who have worked so hard for this, giving us the possibility of having this car. ”

Despite the complex circumstances with only a few days left in the rally, Nani Roma faces the end of this Dakar with enthusiasm and optimism as he faces the remaining aspects of life.

“Yes, we have to be optimistic. I think that with each stage that we go through in this Dakar and in a marathon like this, as difficult as it has been so far, we have to be very optimistic. And that’s it.” And there’s nothing else like it. In life, things happen as they happen.” he said conclusively.