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 | Dakar Rally 2013: Gert Huzink makes a giant leap after best performance.
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The fourth stage from Nazca to Arequipa was highlighted by the organisers. During this special stage of 288 kilometres the immense dunes would separate the men from the boys.
The Dutch Riwald Dakar Team with their former Factory Mitsubishi Racing Lancer (now Ford HRX) survived the toughest test of the opening week. Erik Wevers finished 20th. Gert Huzink arrived in 23th position, his personal best of the Dakar Rally so far, which boosted him in the overall standings.
Erik Wevers and Fabian Lurquin fought a fierce battle with the many dunes in the opening hours. They got stuck a few times and landed on a stone with the HRX Ford causing a broken rim which had to be changed. Apart from this delay the Dutch-Belgian pair raced successfully to the finish. The absolute high was the downhill ‘surf’ of a 1800 meter high dune with the HRX Ford.
"Apart from the problems at the beginning, I enjoyed the stage very much. Today I have benefited enormously from the dune sessions in Morocco. The descent - surfing is a better word - of the high dune in sight of the finish was a unique experience" Erik Wevers said after the stage.
Gert Huzink could show his true nature today. In the toughest special stage so far the Dutchman marked his personal best of the rally. The strong result did not come easy, because Gert had to free his car from a nasty sandhole and also a flat tire had to be changed.
"This was our best day so far" reported Gert Huzink. "Today the pieces of the puzzle finally came together. We managed to gain many positions. The next goal will be to find even more speed and make more progress."
In the overall standings Erik Wevers and Fabian Lurquin are classified in sixteenth position. Gert Huzink and Eugénie Decré made a giant leap forward from 46th to 29th position.
2013/01/09 | 13:15 CET | ARTICLE: MR/HS/RIWALD
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