MOSCOW: Frenchman Mathieu Serradori on Buggy SRT has won the fourth stage of the 2018 Silk Way Rally barely 1 second ahead Yazeed al Rajhi on Mini John Cooper. Victims of mechanical problems, Harry Hunt (Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi) and Nasser al Attiyah (Toyota Hilux) have both given away considerable time in the overall car classifications, with Al Rajhi now the new leader. In the trucks, Andrei Karginov (Kamaz-Master), beat the Dutchman Van Den Brink (Renault Sherpa) by less than one minute. Running into mechanical difficulties, Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz-Master) nevertheless holds on to the overall lead. Tomorrow the Silk Way Rally starts its long route along the Volga, direction Moscow, for the last three stages of this 2018 edition.
Just one tiny second: at the end of 366km of combat that was all that separated Mathieu Serradori, the day’s winner, from Yazeed al Rajhi. An incredible battle that the two drivers engaged in on the special stage around Astrakhan. After having passed the MINI of Roma and then that Al Rajhi, the French driver and his Belgium navigator Fabian Lurquin opened the piste flat out to finish neck and neck with their sparring partners at the finish line. Nani Roma (MINI John Cooper) completed the day’s podium.
If everything went well for these three, the day’s stage turned into a nightmare for the two other challengers. Starting first this morning, the overnight leader Harry Hunt suffered first from suspension problems and then with oil pressure. Twice forced to wait for his rapid assistance truck, the British driver has given away several hours. Starting 26th this morning, Nasser al Attiyah looked all set to pull back time before being forced to stop once again at km 200 due to problems with his rear differential. All of which played into the hands of Yazeed al Rajhi, who at race mid-way point takes the overall lead 46 minutes ahead of Serradori, while Al Attiyah, third, is now 56 minutes behind.
Losing time in yesterday’s difficult conditions, Anastasia Nifontova (Toyota LandCruiser) managed to pull back today to shore up her position as leader of the T2 category. The ex-motorcycle champion posted her 3rd stage victory ahead of the Toyotas of the Chinese competitors Zi Yun Gang and Lu Binglong, who complete the provisional overall podium at the mid-way point. By beating the Bulgarian Cenkov (Quaddy Yxz) and the Frenchman Chavigny (Polaris RZR), Mariia Opariina (Maverick X3) took back the lead off the men in the T3 category. — Agencies
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