With two stages cancelled and many contesters struggling to stay in the race, the Dakar Rally lived up to its reputation of being the toughest rally in the world once again.
The weather was not in favour of the competing teams, as some stages were shortened with two even abandoned because of extreme climatic conditions. There has been a massive landslide, caused by thunderstorms and torrential rain, resulting in the cancellation of Stage 9. Luckily the conditions improved and the rest of the stages did not come in danger.
Riwald Dakar Team “Fast Assistance”
One of the Dakar teams on KONI shock absorbers is the Riwald Dakar Team “Fast Assistance”, the service truck of the Riwald Dakar Team. KONI has combined its' extensive knowledge of shock absorption for both trucks and defence applications into a shock absorber specifically designed for driving the GINAF truck in the tough environment of the Dakar. High temperatures, long stages and rough terrain challenge the truck and the tailor made shock absorbers extremely.
During Stage 2, the teams' partner truck crashed and one of the front wheels broke off. Without the need of helping them, the Fast Assistance team was able to help many other contestants, including Tom Coronel and the Mammoet Rally Sport team. The team of Ed Wigman, Joël Ebbers and Rik Slijkhuis encountered some hard stages with the weather, but they managed to finish every one of them.
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