DAKAR 2020

Step 8: PEDRO BIANCHI PRATA ascends to the 4th of the SSV 

As opposed to the bikes and Quads that saw the stage of the day cancelled in memory of Paulo Gonçalves, Pedro Bianchi Prata, integrated in the SSV competition, returned early in the morning to the competition trying to fulfill his mission in the best possible way after a day that we all wish had not existed: “today, it was a long day. Every mile seemed to be hours inside the car, every danger seemed to have twice the danger in it. I did not lose focus, I focused as much as possible, but the SSV today was not in its day so we were very calm. There were parts with lots of stone, we didn't want to drill. In the dunes we walked Well, we didn't make any mistakes. We didn't go badly in the stage, we chose to save the belt during the day, but 20 km from the end it broke, it was blocked in the variator and we lost about 8 minutes to change it. It wasn't easy. We've come to the end, which is all that matters. We go up one more place in general and we will continue at this pace. Tomorrow will be a hard day, very hard, it will be almost 900 kilometers. It was very difficult this first day knowing that Paul is not here. I set the alarm for 5: 15 and I woke up at 4: 30. I woke up wishing it was a nightmare, but it's reality. A hug to all and let's try to stay strong here."
The Rautenbach / Bianchi Silver team is now in 4th place at 32 m from the podium and tomorrow the ninth stage of the Dakar, which takes place between Wadi Al Dawasir and Haradh, will be long totaling 891 km among which 415 will be contested on the timer. The Dakar prepares to enter the Rub ' al-Khali or Empty quarter, one of the largest deserts in the world and the largest continuous area of sand in the world. The main factor will be the precision of driving on mostly hard and irregular terrain that requires special caution.

José Luis Abreu, from Portugal