Guillaume de Mévius and Xavier Panseri (Toyota Hilux) finished eighth in the Dakar and moved up to fifth place in the standings. The duo opted for a conservative approach and it was rewarded.
This contains inserted content from a social media network that wants to write or read cookies. You have not given permission for this.
After two tough days in the dunes, De Mévius takes stock of the 48-hour stage. “I thought it was fantastic to experience this. The atmosphere in the bivouac was very pleasant. We slept well in the dunes. Thursday evening was very special and very beautiful at the same time.”
Earlier in the day, De Mévius had become a little ill. “The constant driving up and down the dunes made me feel nauseous for a while. But it didn’t really bother me much. It was a very tough stage where we rode it safe. In the initial phase we drove at a tight pace but then slowed down a bit to save the car. A stage of almost 600 km with only dunes has an influence on man and machine. We thought it would be advisable not to go too crazy. Last year there was also a stage in the Empty Quarter, but it was much easier and cannot be compared to what we have experienced now.”
Guillaume de Mévius won the opening stage of this Dakar, was the first leader and now enters the rest day in fifth place. “I am satisfied with how it all went. We are losing some time on the leaders, that is true. Al Rajhi and Al-Attiyah have taken a different approach, but they have disappeared from the top of the rankings. We are fifth. I’m glad we took a more careful approach and saved our materials. Our conservative approach has paid off,” De Mévius concluded.