The second stage of the Dakar 2021 was enjoyable from start to finish for Tim and Tom Coronel. Even a navigation error did not spoil the fun. “We wasted 20 minutes on that mistake,” admitted Tom. “But apart from that everything was under control.”
The brothers could certainly have ended a few places up in the classification of the 457 km stage to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, but Tom was not dissatisfied with 39th. “It was just stupid,” he says. “We were in the dust behind the Dakar Speed truck, signalling that we wanted to get past it, so we didn’t pay close attention. I suddenly saw that we were very wrong. We quickly turned around and drove back. Except for that one thing, it was a seriously good day. I am happy.”
It was the only blemish on an otherwise fantastic day, as Tim described it. “A great day. What a wonderful stage. Mountains, valleys, , dunes like skyscrapers, hard soil, soft sand: everything was there. The car feels better and better and is doing great. Even in the dunes with 400 litres of petrol on board. That’s hard work for The Beast!”
Tim is gaining more and more confidence in the car and therefore dares to push harder. “We are now 36th in the standings, but we also dare to look upwards. The competition is very strong. There’s only big, fat cars – and then us. The outsiders, as usual.”
The fact that things are going so well also gives Tom “sense and energy” to keep going. “If it’s a torture, you wonder what you’re doing it for. That is not at all now. We keep on pushing, but are not out of control for a moment. We’ve had different experiences over the years. It is of course still early in the rally, but we are slowly moving towards the top 20 and I am increasingly confident that we simply belong there.”
