It wasn’t just the factory truck called Benny that had to fight hard today. Martin Macik Jr. and his crew took a real beating in the first stage, stretching over 400 km. Despite the harsh conditions, they crossed the finish line in third place, breathing down the necks of their competitors. Tomorrow, the field faces the 48h Chrono, a special two-day stage.

This Is What Dakar Is All About

Right from the start, this year’s Dakar wasted no time in pushing the competitors to their limits. At 413 km, the opening stage wasn’t the longest, but the brutal terrain—packed with rocks, trees, and dense brush—made it one of the toughest. But that’s exactly what Dakar is about; it’s not meant to be a relaxed Saturday afternoon drive.

“I expected it to be hard—and that’s exactly what we got. The first half was packed with other vehicles, and the dust made visibility almost non-existent at times. Then in the second half, we slid off a boulder, so the last 100 km were really something. But we pushed through, and I’m happy with third place today. Now let’s see what the next two days bring—it’s going to be a completely different story compared to last year,” summarized Martin Macik Jr., referencing the upcoming 48h Chrono.

No Time to Breathe for the Navigator

MM Technology’s navigator, Frantisek Tomasek, had his hands full today. The first stage was extremely demanding in terms of navigation, and keeping on the right track was no easy task.

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect them to hit us this hard right out of the gate. There were countless trails that looked tempting to follow, plenty of tricky spots, and at one point, we weren’t 100% sure which way to go. That cost us a few minutes, which is exactly the gap we’re trailing Mitchel van den Brink by,” said Tomasek, reflecting on the day’s intense challenge.

Benny Took a Beating

The team’s truck, Benny, wasn’t spared from the punishment either, pushing through the final 100 km with a damaged steering rod. Up until now, the mechanics had mostly been handling routine maintenance, but tonight, they’ll be rolling up their sleeves for some serious repairs.

“Benny is properly banged up today. Not only did about a million tree branches and bushes scrape the hell out of him, but that boulder we hit in the second half bent the steering rod. Nothing we can’t fix, though—our mechanics will get him back in shape, and he’ll be ready to go again tomorrow,” assured David Svanda, the team’s mechanic.