The student surpasses the master, cooperation during the marathon stage

Kamil Wiśniewski arrived at the finish line of the marathon stage just before Rafał Sonik. From the few information that managed to seep out of the closed bivouac in Uyuni we gathered that they worked together on their quads, getting them ready for a much longer racing day on Tuesday. Luckily, they haven’t suffered a lot of damage.

During the rest day, the organizers had their hands full. The Monday’s marathon stage was changed and in its new form incorporated fragments of sections from the sixth and seventh special stages. Even though the distance was not so significant (161 km), the first part of the stage was a considerable challenge. The driving was far from made easy due to thick greenery growing over the average-sized but extensive dunes.

Unfortunately, due to connection problems, we only managed to obtain information about the technical condition of the quads. ‘I talked to Rafał, and we quickly consulted on the necessary repairs of the quad. He only had to pour in some oil and fasten the axis nut that came loose. There weren’t any major problems with Kamil’s quad, too,’ said Jarosław Zając, the mechanic in the Sonik Team.

The younger of the two quad riders did slightly better during the seventh stage. Kamil Wiśniewski recorded 12th time and went up to the 14th position in the general classification. Rafał Sonik arrived at the finish line just behind him and managed to keep his 10th position in the general classification.

The second part of the marathon stage will be much harder. While the organizers did shorten the special stage again (it was originally 492 km long), but only just. All riders will follow the very challenging route from Uyuni to Salta, which is located on the Argentinian side of the border, depending only on simple repairs and their own control of the vehicles. If someone overdid it on Monday with their vehicle, they might pay a hefty price for it on Tuesday.

Results of the seventh stage:

1. Sergey Karyakin (RUS) 02:32:49
2. Axel Dutrie (FRA) +2:59
3. Ignacio Casale (CHL) +9:36

…

12. Kamil Wiśniewski (POL) +37.30
13. Rafał Sonik (POL) +48.13

General classification:

1. Sergey Karyakin (RUS) 22:13:25
2. Simon Vitse (FRA) +5.16
3. Axel Dutrie (FRA) +5.20

…

10. Rafał Sonik (POL) +2:45.45
11. Kamil Wiśniewski (POL) +4:24:13