Overheated but happy Sonik steps off the gas

Only 235 km of a special stage stands between Rafał Sonik and the second victory in Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in his career. On Wednesday, the Polish participant arrived at the finish line after Ignacio Casale, but as he said, he stepped off the gas during the second part of this stage. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll be driving like a vendor of eggs,’ he promised.

Rafał Sonik does not need to race Ignacio Casale, and yet his experience gained over the seven years of participating in the rallies and training at the famous Ar-Rab al-Chali (which loosely translates into ‘Empty Quarter’) desert was a major advantage. ‘For the first part of the stage I was driving at a strong but even pace. It turned out that it was sufficient to reach the fuel stop less than half a minute after Ignacio. Together with my team, we decided that there is no need to be reckless and I completed the second part of the stage at a more leisurely pace,’ said Sonik, who lost only three and a half minutes to the winner of the stage.

‘A much more important goal is ahead of me than simply fighting to win individual stages. I took part in this rally seven times, but I won only once. I might repeat this success on Thursday. There is no point in straining to accomplish anything else than the final result,’ he emphasized.

Rafał Sonik slowed down also due to the overheating shock absorbers, which made it more difficult to drive along the uneven desert. ‘It was hard work – several dozen strong hits that my arms, my hips, and my knees had to bear. I also hit my thighs on the steering wheel accessories multiple times, so I’ve got a lot of bruises. And at the end, I overheated myself. But I’m not complaining. I draw conclusions and I know what do we need to work on before the Rally of Qatar. Even though yesterday the wonky shock absorbers only decreased the comfort of driving, today they significantly affected my speed,’ he commented.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll be driving with a smile on my face. This desert is simply beautiful, so I want to enjoy the last day of racing between the dunes. Surely, I’ll be driving as if transporting eggs, a whole lot of eggs, because the most important thing now is to reach the finish line and to begin the new World Cup season with a victory,’ concluded “SuperSonik”, who is going to begin the last special stage on Thursday at about 7.00 (Polish time).