On Tuesday, the athletes had to cover 365 kilometers in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates, 257 of which had to be covered as fast as possible - that was the speed section. CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team athlete Antanas Kanopkinas return to the bivouac only by sunset - the ATV had problems with the fuel system again, so the racer had to spend more than one hour in the exhausting heat of the sand dunes.
"Before reaching the refueling zone, which was in the middle of the track, the quad engine started to fail. There were all kinds of thoughts about what kind of failure it could be. The organizers brought additional fuel again and I managed to reach the finish somehow. I am glad that I stayed in the competition, and a good result will now be crossing the finish line, because there are not many chances to fight for the result", said A. Kanopkinas about the day's events.
After returning to the bivouac, the athlete spoke with the representatives of the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) and the organizers of the event, who admitted that in this type of race, this technique should be allowed to have larger fuel tanks.
"Such problems would also be faced by ATVs of any other manufacturer, but the organizers promised to make decisions about this situation in the future. I would really like more manufacturers to appear and race in our classification, but this situation must be resolved so that driving can be about speed, not fuel saving," said A. Kanopkinas.
Adomas Gančierius, another member of the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team managed to finish the track more smoothly. The first part, according to him, was like driving on the sea - all the time crossing small dunes: "The first part was not difficult, but the biggest dunes started in the second half of the day. We had to overcome the dunes of the third level - according to the classification, they are the largest. I passed them all without any major problems, but I had to push myself and my quad to the maximum."
Although the track itself was difficult to overcome, the navigation, according to the athlete, was quite elementary and he never got lost, even though he saw competitors wandering around the biggest dunes.
The uniqueness of this night is that the equipment of the participants will be parked overnight in a closed park and the mechanics will not be able to repair or check it. After the finish, the athletes had an hour during which, with the advice of the mechanics, but not direct assistance, they could make minimal repairs using only the tools and parts they carried with them.
By the way, tomorrow there are also 150 kilometers to the refueling area, so both athletes say that they will have to drive to this point saving fuel and not thinking about the result. Throughout the morning, the participants will have to cover 303 kilometres, of which 266 will be the speed section. The organizers promise that it will consist entirely of sand and dunes.
