Lima: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi made a balanced start to his 2018 Dakar Rally campaign on Saturday but a lost-way point cost him about two minutes.
The Abu Dhabi Racing driver nevertheless is now looking forward to second day, which will herald the start of the long stages where he will follow a specific strategy in his quest to climb up the overall standings aboard the Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi with co-driver Xavier Panseri.
Navigators are having a bit of a difficult time with new regulations in place. Unlike in the past, drivers are now not allowed to carry maps in any form (paper, electronic or any other type of support) so crews must therefore rely solely on the roadbook and the GPS system provided by the organisers.
Despite this, Shaikh Khalid started his Dakar quest on a positive note and is looking forward to the days ahead of this long campaign. “We started on a balanced speed. There were a lot of tracks as the bikes started before the cars so there were a lot of tracks,” he said.
“As a result, I missed a way point and so I had to circle to get back on track, which cost us some precious time. But after this we had good momentum. “It was a short day, just about 31 km of special stage and now I am looking forward to the longer stages that lie ahead of us on this epic rally.”
