Africa Eco Race – stage 8, the challenge increases!

Today the race organizers prepared a hard stage for the participants. Assistance didn’t move, the route was circular. We were joking n the morning: why lunch was prepared only for assistance on the bivouac, not for racers? The track was only 387 km, we could easily finish by lunch! But it was not to be… Starting from the very centre of the Mauritanian village, where local people surrounded us, sailing knick-knackery, the race track led us to big rocky ridges. Only for 160 km the sportsmen had to drive round big and medium rocks and stones at the low speed. The stage was realized to become fast and easy. We continued to go that way until the 300^th kilometer – wide sandy river beds with tough sand and stony plateaus kept us slow. There also was Mauritanian sand which looks like flour. It was a short stage but very challenging. Dunes were not high but irregular and with mild sand. 7 or 8 crews in front of us were digging their cars out. Or two trucks, didn’t get stuck, but stopped in order to see how the wind was blowing and choose the best way. Not in a fast way but we could get out of the trap. Gas and diesel engine is the best in such situations.

After 300 km, straight terrains appeared, it seemed that the organizers would let us take a breath before the finish. But we were mistaken again. First, Sergey Kuprianov’s crew punctured a rare wheel of the truck. It happened on a straight road, foreboding no problems, after the most challenging rocky trial which was over then. But our front wheel raised a stone from the road and it cut tire wall of a rare wheel. We stopped for replacement, then continued our way…It seemed to be going well now…But not this time! 20 km before the finish there was an unclear reference. Driving off road we followed the course 10, avoiding hills of sand, then the course 60…but after several meters did we need to follow the course 60? It was not said… We followed the track, it turned on course 60…In half a kilometer five cars are going  straight to us…It was a wrong way… We came back, found the correct turn and here it was – the long-awaited finish!

Today we had everything on the stage: an exhausting rocky trial, sand river-beds with tough sand and sharp slopes, Mauritanian sand-flour, a punctured wheel, navigation problems, but nevertheless, finish was reached . And now we are on the bivouac in the arms of our team, eating mushroom soup and preparing for tomorrow’s fight!

 Results of the 8^th stage, truck category