The first official kilometers of the Dakar Rally are over, the prologue of twenty-nine kilometers brought the 34th time for Tim and Tom Coronel in the Century CR7. The brothers are satisfied with the prologue, where the car felt good and it was a good ride to get everything going. They did lose a mirror again today.
“It went absolutely fine,” Tom tells us. “We had pretty good speed. We overshot a bit twice, but the car feels good and we were able to get everything going nicely. The result is a time within the top 35 and that’s where we belong, we can take the extras nicely.”
The Century CR7 performed well in the first real kilometers, Tim thinks. “The car didn’t budge and felt good. We had nice bits, fast bits and also some technical bits on the stage. So we could feel everything nicely. It’s nice to be back in the desert and go on this adventure together and we’re sitting there nicely, so I’m happy.”
Tom concurs. “Everything okey-doke, the navigation was good and Tim had a nice speed. The only thing is that we lost another mirror today, it’s going quickly now. If we lose one or two every day, we’ll soon have 20 to 30 off. But, we’re off!”
First stage
Tomorrow will be the first stage of the Dakar Rally. That’s a 413-kilometer loop with the start and finish in Bisha. Along the way, the participants will encounter basically everything and will have to constantly adapt to the terrain. Besides a challenge for the drivers, the navigators will also be tested. It will immediately be a challenging start to the Dakar Rally where alertness and nerves of steel are important.
Coronel Dakar Team is supported: LKQ, Era, Optimal, Mascot Workwear, MPM, Eru, JBL, 4Brands, Efulfilment.eu, BS Forklifts, Toolspecial, FEBO, KeukenWarenhuis, Serengeti, Hella, DHG, FMS, Brondool, ChassisParts, Apple King, SuperB, P1, Copernica
