The tenth stage of the Dakar Rally in the truck category has once again turned the overall standings upside down. In the white dunes on the way to Bisha, misfortune struck hard for Mitchel van den Brink. On the day he celebrated his 24th birthday, the Dutchman lost his lead in the general classification due to a chain of technical problems. Aleš Loprais claimed the stage victory, while Vaidotas Žala, thanks to a strong second place, became the new overall leader.
Early trouble in the white sand
The stage, featuring a long special through soft white sand and treacherous dunes, began dramatically for the Eurol Rally Sport crew. After roughly twenty kilometers, a driveshaft broke while climbing a dune. The shaft was removed quickly, but waiting for a replacement cost a significant amount of time. Several teams stopped to help, yet it was only later in the stage that a suitable replacement could be delivered. By then, the time loss had already grown to more than forty minutes.
After resuming the stage, the pace seemed solid again, but the bad luck continued to follow Mitchel. In the second part of the special, the Iveco got stuck on a small but extremely soft dune. Martin Macík pulled the truck free, but that again cost valuable minutes. As a result, the Dutchman was completely out of contention for the stage win.
Loprais and Žala decide the stage
At the front, a strong duel developed between Aleš Loprais and Vaidotas Žala. In the demanding dune sections, Loprais kept his composure and gradually built up an advantage. The Czech driver delivered a flawless run to secure his fourth stage win of this Dakar. Žala stayed close and finished second, just 1 minute and 37 seconds behind, a result that later proved highly valuable for the overall standings.
Behind this duo, Martin Soltys finished third with Buggyra. Martin Macík, who had dropped far back earlier in the rally, mounted a strong recovery drive and finished fourth. Kay Huzink completed the top five after a consistent stage, once again working closely with teammate Gert Huzink.
Dutch crews help and lose time
It was not only Mitchel van den Brink who endured a difficult day. His father, Martin van den Brink, also lost time in the dunes. He stopped to assist his son and became stuck himself. Later in the stage, they also took time to put Tetsuhiro Sugawara’s overturned truck back on its wheels. A sporting gesture, but one that cost additional minutes. In the end, this crew finished eighth, just behind Mitchel, who was classified seventh.
The tenth stage was anything but smooth for the other Dutch teams either. Gert Huzink suffered a serious setback early in the stage when his truck ended up on its side before kilometer 46, just as the stage had started promisingly in the beautiful dunes at sunrise. With the help of Ben de Groot, the truck was eventually righted, but due to issues including oil pressure, significant time was lost, and the deficit grew to over two hours. After resuming the stage, the challenging dune terrain remained a struggle, where Huzink had to stop several times because, as he himself explained, “there was 1 cubic meter of sand under my accelerator, and that made accelerating difficult.” Huzink eventually managed to set course for the bivouac in Bisha, with his sights set on the next stage.
It was also a tough day for the DDW Rallyteam of Egbert Wingens. Persistent problems with the cab suspension and overall suspension forced the team to repeatedly slow down to prevent further damage. The stage became a matter of survival, focused solely on getting the truck safely to the finish.
As a result, for several Dutch crews the emphasis today was not on speed, but on reaching the bivouac. At the time of writing, a number of Dutch trucks are still on course after an exhausting day in the white dunes around Bisha.
New leader, new balance of power
Due to the significant time loss suffered by Mitchel van den Brink, the overall classification has changed dramatically. Vaidotas Žala takes over the lead and now holds an advantage of 18 minutes and 55 seconds over Aleš Loprais. Mitchel drops to third place, trailing by 35 minutes and 30 seconds. Martin Macík follows further back after another day with time loss, although his fourth-place finish showed that his truck is competitive again.
Looking ahead to stage eleven
The Dakar, however, is far from decided. Stage eleven from Bisha to Al Henakiyah promises another brutal challenge. With a total distance of nearly 900 kilometers and a 346-kilometer special, it will be a day that demands everything both physically and mechanically. The attack begins. In Dakar, anything can still happen, and the fight for the podium is far from over.
Results stage 10
1. Aleš Loprais 05:13:21
2. Vaidotas Žala +00:01:37
3. Martin Soltys +00:22:30
5. Kay Huzink +00:31:21
7. Mitchel van den Brink +01:11:19
8. Martin van den Brink +01:12:12
9. Richard de Groot +01:26:36
11. Marnix Leeuw +02:46:25
13. Gert Huzink +03:25:23
??. Ben de Groot
??. Egbert Wingens
