The third stage of the Dakar 2022 for Nikolaev: broken windshield and a wheel explosion before the finish

The village of Al-Qaisumah, near which the bivouac of the Dakar Rally 2022 was arranged, is well known to participants from the last year. The settlement near the border with Kuwait has a special historical value for Saudi Arabia: in the middle of the last century, the Trans-Arabian oil pipeline opened here, which can be seen preserved (but abandoned) today as well.

However, the route adjustment remains unchanged for stages connected with Al-Qaisumah. An interesting coincidence: if in the race of 2021 the organizers cut off 100 kilometers from the special stage, then in 2022 they had to map a new path. It's all because of flooding of the territories through which the riders were supposed to drive on Tuesday. And in order to guarantee their safety, the third special stage got a new shape and became the sixth loop section in this rally edition.

Today's special stage is the shortest in the first half of the Dakar 2022. Its length is only 255 kilometers. According to rally-raid standards it is nothing, but little does not mean easy. What are worth only to take a trip to heavy sands after rains in the first part of a sports day and a chain of dunes, among which it is so easy to get lost. The crew of Andrey Karginov, who left the start first, already at the 50-kilometer mark allowed Dmitry Sotnikov and Eduard Nikolaev to pass them by - only five seconds divided the three KAMAZ-master trucks on the virtual scoreboard. The rest participants of the truck classification, which were separated from each other by a few seconds, also went in a dense group.

The athletes were allowed to take a breath for 20 minutes in the neutralization zone, after which the navigators took on the main role in the crews. From a technical point of view, the second part of the special stage turned out faster and easier for drivers, but much more confusing in terms of navigation. Also in the Dakar "menu" was a serious 30-kilometer segment, marked by the organizers of the second level of difficulty, which means only one thing: giant dunes will not let you pass through them in one breath.

Crew No 500 was the best to pass the route, that strengthened its leadership in the general classification of the truck classification. Dmitry Sotnikov showed the best time at the finish - 2 hours 43 minutes 25 seconds, again demonstrating high potential of the new truck produced in 2021 by the Russian KAMAZ-master team.

Dmitry Sotnikov, driver of crew No 500: “The special stage was quite dynamic, we changed the pace quite often. There were fast and winding roads between the dunes, and there also was enough navigation: the tracks were sometimes lost and the navigator had to make efforts to understand if we were going in the right direction. In one place in dunes we were on the right course, but there was no hidden navigation point - it was 20-30 meters away, and we had to circle in one place in its search. The whole stage Ansdrey was going ahead of us, and about 50 kilometers before the finish, on the penultimate dune section, he let us overrun."

Andrey Karginov became the second according to the day’s results after the winner. Whereas for Eduard Nikolaev, driving KAMAZ-435091 truck similar to Sotnikov, the stage ended with a bitter wheel explosion just before the finish line, and the lost minutes cost a place in the top three.

Andrey Karginov, driver of crew No 509: “There were many dunes of the first and second levels, a lot of maximum speed, and a small amount of stones. There were no problems with navigation, the truck did not let us down – thanks to the mechanics for preparing it.”

Janus van Kasteren from Gerard de Rooy's team exerted serious pressure on the Chelny's positions throughout the 255 kilometers. Step by step the Dutchman won positions back and eventually wedged himself between Andrey Karginov and Anton Shibalov. The Czech Ales Loprais, who followed him, had to stop twice and as a result finished outside the top 10, where were representatives on five different brands of trucks. 

Minimal gaps between the crews emphasized once again: the slightest mistake on the road can seriously hit the overall positions and hopes for success at the end of 12 stages of the legendary marathon.

Anton Shibalov, driver of crew No 501: “The whole day turned out fast - straight roads alternated with dunes of first and second difficulty. The sand under the wheels today, although it was not loose and viscous, but it was hard for the truck to drive. On the dunes there were constant “bondstones”, we had to be overcautious, because it was not clear what awaits from the other side. At the end of the special stage, Eduard Nikolaev was seen changing the wheel. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep only a little to the finish line to get there without loss."

Eduard Nikolaev, driver of crew No 505: “Before the neutralization zone, which was at the 60th kilometer, there was a sudden "meeting" with a tree that was not marked in the legend at all. Yes, there was driver's fault, but the organizers should have noted this obstacle. We were driving at a high speed and it was difficult to assess whether there was enough space to pass it by or not. As a result, I took a risk and damaged the windshield with a branch. It's good that it did not crash and did not break away, but only became covered with cobwebs. We saw Andrey and Dima in the distance, but we couldn't get close to them - they walked at the same high pace. And already 17-18 km before the finish line, we faced a new trouble: when braking, I felt small beats, as if stones were hitting a wheel. And after a couple of kilometers, the front left wheel sharply exploded. After inspection, it turned out that the damper was torn off - one part of it cut off the bolt and crashed into the tire, that led to a abruption. We will figure out the reason. It is a pity that we lost time, but this is the Dakar, and everything does not go smoothly here. The whole race is ahead, we are not upset."

On Wednesday the rally caravan will leave for the capital of Saudi Arabia - Riyadh. The fourth special stage Dakar 2022 will be the longest - 465 kilometers.

Truck Category. Results of the 3^rd stage. Top 10

Truck Category. General Classification after the 3^rd stage. Top 10