The marathon stage delivered two completely different stories for DaklaPack Rallysport. While both Klaassen teams struggled with severe technical issues yesterday and arrived in the dark at the refuge camp, the fifth stage went much better. Pim Klaassen finished 17th, and Dave Klaassen finished 48th.
It started dramatically during the fourth stage. Dave Klaassen and navigator Tessa faced broken bolts on the wheel suspension brackets and had to replace a drive shaft. “We still had 275 kilometers left in the stage and spent the last 1.5 hours driving in the dark,” Tessa explained.
Pim Klaassen and navigator Mark Laan also had bad luck. The wheel bolts on the left rear wheel broke, and they had to wait for the assistance truck to bring a new wheel hub. “We managed to replace it ourselves, but we still had to drive the last 190 kilometers of the stage in the dark,” Pim said.
Earlier in the stage, Pim had helped his niece Puck Klaassen with a crucial wishbone when she was stranded at kilometer 132. By stopping and giving her the part, Pim lost some time himself but kept his niece in the race.
Setting up tents in the dark
Both teams arrived at the marathon bivouac in the dark, where they had to set up their own tents without help from their service teams. “We had to set up our own tents and had some survival food before we could rest,” Tessa said. Dave and Tessa even helped Pim and Mark set up their tent, as it was their first marathon stage in their young Dakar career.
The marathon stage is a unique format where competitors spend the night in a bare refuge camp with only tents, sleeping bags, and military rations, and must perform all repairs themselves.
Fresh start on Stage 5
The next morning, both teams were refreshed. “In the morning, everyone was fresh and ready to get the cars back to the guys in Ha’il,” the team said. And they succeeded: Pim Klaassen drove a strong stage and finished 17th, 24 minutes and 51 seconds behind in the Challenger class. In the Ultimate category, Dave Klaassen finished 48th, 49 minutes and 22 seconds behind.
“Tomorrow is the last stage before the rest day in Riyadh,” Tessa concluded. After the tough marathon stage, both teams can now, with the help of their full service team, optimally prepare their cars for the rest of the Dakar.
