Eduard Pons solidifies his place in the Dakar Top 10

"It was a survival stage, which we finished at night. After the punctures, we had to conserve, but we are still in the race, improving and advancing." 

Another long and tough Dakar stage, another challenge overcome by the Pons Rallysport team. The third special of the Dakar, between Al Duwadimi and Al Salamiya, concluded with the best partial result for Eduard Pons and his co-driver Jaume Betriu, who placed their Can-Am Maverick X3 in ninth overall position in the SSV category, 44 minutes behind the leader after 437 timed kilometers. This performance allows them to consolidate tenth place in the general classification among production light vehicles.

The day was marked in red on the Pons Rallysport team's agenda, as it was their first experience with a marathon stage, with only two hours of assistance at the end of the special, before the vehicles entered parc fermé until the next day. Pons and Betriu tackled it with aplomb, and could even have finished higher had they not suffered two punctures in the first third of the timed section.

"We had a puncture at kilometer 70 and then again at 120. We had no more spare tires, so we had to be conservative and tread carefully until the end," explains the driver from Lleida. "It was truly bad luck, because we had punctures without even attacking," he adds.Among the positive aspects was the skill with which the Pons Rallysport team navigated the dune sections in the second half of the special.

"They were soft and large, complicated dunes, and we did a very good job there, because we didn't get stuck at any point and were able to make up some time," says Pons.
 
Thus, toughness has once again been the dominant theme in Pons's first Dakar as a driver and Betriu's first as a co-driver.

The Lleida natives had to complete the last 25 kilometers of the special at night, and during the two hours of subsequent assistance, they took the opportunity to replace a broken rear suspension arm.

"It was a survival stage, which we finished at night. The important thing is that we are still in the race, improving and advancing. We hope that luck will be with us, even though we didn't have it today with the punctures," asserts the veteran Pons.

This Tuesday, the second part of the marathon stage will run between Al Salamiya and Al-Hofuf. It will be 698 kilometers, of which 299 will be timed. The day's special will have a bit of everything, especially fast and rocky tracks, and also dunes in the final section.