Stage 11 of the 2018 Dakar Rally was not easy for the Ford Ranger pilots Tomas Ourednicek and David Kripal. In the light of how their day started, the 28th time they clocked in the 280 km long special, nicknamed ‘Super Fiambalá’ can be considered a fantastic result, especially because they again managed to improve their overall result, to a provisional 35th position.

"The morning was very tough," reported Tomas Ourednicek. "We woke up quite early and realised that our car was not ready, the mechanics were still working on it. For a while it seemed like we couldn’t even take the start but finally the Ranger was ready on time, so we began the stage."

"In the special, we got stuck on a dune, the engine stopped, and the starter didn’t work. Finally another car pulled us, and we managed to start the engine, but we lost a lot of time. After that we decided to take a more cautious approach, we didn’t really push, so our time could be better. For a while we drove together with Martin Macik’s truck, but he had cooling problems, so we gave him all the water we had on board. For David this was the first time in Fiambalá, but he did a great job, flawless navigation. Again, many cars had problems, and we’ve finished the stage, so basically we are happy," Tomas Ourednicek described their day.

"Today the track was fantastic," said navigator David Kripal. "The dunes here are different from those of Peru, these are less dangerous and more enjoyable to drive. The navigation was great, I enjoyed it a lot, and we found all points without problem. Altogether, we had our share of difficulties, but now we are another day closer to the finish."

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