The 2024 Dakar Rally reaches its halfway point with the rest day, which has nothing to do with relaxation, because the riders and bikes take advantage of it to meet the media and participate in events with the brands. Among those who spoke to the press there was also Carlos Sainz, who leads the general classification with a large advantage over his rivals, even if the Spaniard remains cautious about all the hypotheses and possible scenarios.
When Motorsport.com asked him if his hypothetical victory this year would bring Audi full circle in the legendary desert race, he preferred not to refer to any victory before crossing the finish line. Sainz remained very focused on the goal: “I won't talk about hypotheses about anything, because my experience tells me that talking about something that isn't tomorrow is not relevant.”
“When the day comes and whatever has happened, we will have time to think about the next day or the future,” the Spaniard said. “Now the only thing that worries me is tomorrow's stage, then I'll worry about the day after tomorrow's stage. I'll go day by day and when I'm done, then we'll see.”
Regarding his position at the top of the race in the Saudi event, the two-time WRC champion and three-time Dakar Rally champion said he was calm, but aware that there will be difficult moments with very complicated special stages: “We are satisfied, it is It was a positive week for the team, but at the same time we are very cautious and look forward to the second week, because there is still a long way to go.”
However, the day of rest is useful for him and his Audi RS Q e-tron to recharge the batteries: “I think it is a well-deserved day of rest, which will come in handy for us. It is also essential for the car, because it is a complicated car that needs attention and, like all cars in the Dakar, some parts need to be changed. From here begins a second week in which we start with a good advantage, but we have already seen that the half hour dances very quickly from a one side to the other. So we are aware that there is still a long way to go, with stages of 400 kilometres”, explained Carlos Sainz.
Furthermore, the Spaniard does not want to imagine anything, but limits himself to competing to reach the final goal in this edition of the Dakar Rally: “In my life I have always tried to dream and imagine things, and when you race you try to imagine things positive and scenarios that we like”.
“Why think negatively? Within the ideal scenarios, one was to try to get to a good position, like we got to. It was a good week, in which everything happened and in which we had to make decisions that we didn't know if they were good or bad,” continued the Spaniard, who was also asked whether it will be his mistakes or his pursuers that represent the greatest opposition.
“It's the whole thing. Mattias Ekstrom and Sébastien Loeb are practically at a distance in this rally, so both are great rivals. As a team, Audi is in an excellent situation at the moment and we have to try to take advantage of this opportunity “, said the Madrid driver.
However, leading the race at the halfway point is no easy task, and even less so for a car like the one with the four circles, which has had so many problems in previous editions. When Sainz was asked if his car's performance was a surprise, he replied: “No, if you remember the conversations, the statements, we were sure that we were better prepared than last year. But it is true that in this rally, not only for us, but for everyone, the priority and main concern is reliability.”
“When you have such a complicated car, let's say you always have a little more fear that something could go wrong, but the work that the team is doing and has done is excellent, despite some thinking that we would last a long time. Well, yes, I think we are at least here for this first week,” said the Spaniard.
Many have pointed out that his leading position is thanks to an intelligent strategy, but it is not limited to this: “To say that we are in the lead thanks to strategy seems to me an exaggeration. In the end, you have to have a good strategy, you have to drive fast, you must not make mistakes and you must do everything in a more or less decent way”.
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