Lima: Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi, Abu Dhabi Racing and Peugeot Middle East official driver, made steady progress with co-driver Xavier Panseri on the second day of the 2018 edition of the Dakar Rally on Sunday — finishing in 11th position and 11th overall.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner had a balanced start to his 2018 Dakar Rally campaign on the first day but a lost-way point cost him about two minutes.
Under new regulations, drivers are now not permitted 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. Shaikh Khalid has, however, adjusted to this rule change and looks forward to improving on his times in the days ahead.
Shaikh Khalid said: “We started the day on a cautious note as there was an accident ahead of us, but we caught up with the cars ahead of us in less than 20km. Anyway we reached the dunes and I started having a nice balance. But on the big dunes it was really difficult yet we still caught up with a few more cars.
“It was, however, getting a bit difficult as I could not climb some of the big dunes. After crossing the big dunes I made good progress but suddenly got stuck, though not for a long time because I deflated the tyres. So I lost about a minute.”
