With the 10th stage with a length of 371 km, this year’s Dakar came a little closer to its end. The MM Technology crew consisting of Martin Macik Jr., Frantisek Tomasek and David Svanda finished it in a competitive but reasonable pace in 2nd place. They are still on top of the overall standings.

Cenda was shining again

The racing special from the MM Technology workshop finished today’s stage without any technical problems or major damage. “Cenda didn’t even lose a tyre today, the truck is completely fine. It is simply making us happy this year. Not only me, but also the mechanics who are waiting for it in the bivouac, because they just do the maintenance and we keep racing.”, describes with a smile the condition of the truck after the 10th stage mechanic David Svanda.

Perfect navigation

The terrain in the Alula region was already familiar to the orange trio and very pleasant to navigate. The hard and dusty surface at the beginning gradually turned into softer, sandy ground in between rocks, where many Czech fans were waiting for Cenda. “I didn’t get lost!”, reported navigator Frantisek Tomasek right after reaching the finish line. “This was the best stage this year for me. We didn’t encounter any problematic waypoints on the route, we found and got through all of them. We drove smoothly, sensibly, but still fast enough, which earned us second place and I am satisfied.”, he adds.

Driving within reason pays off

In a similar fashion, pilot Martin Macik Jr. also assesses one of the last stages:”At the beginning it was tough and we drove a lot in the dust, but gradually we got to the sand and rocks. There I was surprised by the many fans with Czech flags, it was great to see and we really appreciate such support. We didn’t drive on the edge, at this stage of the Dakar it is important not to fly mindlessly to the finish, but to consider what is worth a certain risk and what is not. In addition, I have to praise the navigation, today it was absolutely flawless. Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult stage, but I believe that we will get a good result again.” The tactics chosen by the MM Technology team paid off. They covered the distance of 371 racing kilometers in a time that earned them a comfortable 2nd position and they are still in 1st place in the overall standings.