Svitko Achieves Respectable Finish in Challenging Dakar Stage
Slovakia’s Štefan Svitko secured a 14th place finish in teh demanding seventh stage of the Dakar Rally, navigating a grueling 412-kilometer timed special stage in Al Duwadimi.
The veteran rider completed the stage on his KTM motorcycle in 4:28:56, trailing stage winner Daniel Sanders of Australia by 18:23 minutes. Sanders, a factory KTM rider, extended his overall lead over Svitko to 1:49:07.
Svitko started the stage in 15th position and initially held a promising 10th place after 45 kilometers. However, navigational errors around the 100-kilometer mark saw him drop to 26th. He steadily climbed back up the rankings throughout the rest of the stage.
This marked Sanders’ eighth stage victory in his Dakar career and his fifth in this year’s edition. He now holds a commanding lead of 15:23 minutes over Spain’s Tosha Schareina,who finished third in the stage.
Reflecting on the stage, Svitko shared his frustrations on social media, stating, “The rain at the beginning threw off my strategy. I was counting on clear tracks, but at kilometer 52, I caught up to a rider ahead and we both got lost. This was frustrating, and I made a few more mistakes after that. With five stages remaining, the focus shifts to navigating the dunes in the heat while preserving the bike.”
In the car category, Brazil’s Lucas Moraes secured his maiden stage victory, piloting his Toyota to a time of 4:01:49. his teammate, Henk Lategan from South Africa, maintains the overall lead, but his advantage over local favorite Yazeed Al-Rajhi has shrunk to a mere 21 seconds after al-Rajhi’s strong seventh-place finish.
The seventh stage saw a shift in the course design, with different routes for each category. This forced riders to rely more heavily on their navigation skills rather than following established tracks.Key Results:
Motorcycles: 1. Daniel Sanders (Aus.) 4:10:33 h, 2. Edgar Canet +3:36 min, 3. Tosha schareina (Sp.) +3:47,… 14. Štefan SVITKO (SR) +18:23
Overall Motorcycles (after 7 of 12 stages): 1. Sanders 39:29:22, 2. Schareina +15:23, 3. Van Beveren +26:07, … 12. SVITKO (SR) +1:49:07
Cars: 1. Lucas Moraes (Braz.) 4:01:49, 2. Mattias Ekström (Swe.) +7:41, 3.Mitchell Guthrie (USA) +9:28
Overall Cars: 1. Henk Lategan (JAR) 37:13:08, 2. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (S. Ar.) +21 s, 3. Ekström +10:25
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