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Issue #8:January 12, 2025
The first day of the second half of the race saw the competitors travel southeast from Ha'il to Al Duwadimi, covering a 605 km SS (Special Stage). The liaison sections before and after the SS were also over 100 km each, making the total distance a lengthy 829 km.
TLC's two Land Cruiser 300s, which have maintained a one-two position in the Production Car (Stock) category at the halfway point, started this long stage at a steady pace. However, Ronald Basso and Jean-Pierre Garcin in car #501 soon stopped on the course due to engine control system issues. They spent about an hour trying to fix the problem without success. Unable to maintain a sufficient pace, they resumed driving. Due to this time loss, sunset hit just before the sand dunes in the second half, so they had to drive carefully to reach the SS finish. They arrived at the Al Duwadimi bivouac at around 12:30 am.
Meanwhile, Akira Miura and Jean-Michel Polato in car #500 faced a different setback. At the exit of the mid-stage transfer section (a sealed road section with a specified time limit), the engine failed to restart after being stopped, resulting in a time loss of about 15 minutes before they resolved the issue. Later, while driving the remaining 50 km of the sand dune section, they encountered drivetrain issues, taking about two hours to get through the dunes. Although car #500 also made it safely to the SS finish, it was around 2 am by the time they arrived at the bivouac. As of 3:50 am local time on January 12th, the rankings for both cars were not yet announced.
Despite the trouble-related delays, both cars finished within the specified time and were recognized as having completed the stage, allowing them to continue competing on January 12th and beyond. The stage on the 12th is a loop course starting from Al Duwadimi. The start times from the bivouac are 7:34:30 am for car #500 and 7:35 am for car #501. The mechanics began maintenance work as soon as the vehicles arrived, aiming to get them in perfect condition within the limited timeframe.
Driver Miura: When the drivetrain trouble occurred towards the end, it was dark, and we didn’t know what was going on, making it difficult to get out. It's very frustrating to be held back by such issues when you're trying to push forward, but we'll keep aiming for the finish.
Driver Basso: It got dark just before the sand dunes, making it difficult to pass, so I'm happy we made it to the finish safely. It was a long day. We also had one puncture.