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Dakar Rally: Mixed fortunes for Poles

03.01.2023 07:00
There were contrasting fortunes for Polish competitors in the 2023 Dakar Rally on Monday, with Marek Goczał winning Stage 2 in the T4 (SSV) class, while motorbiker Maciej Giemza had to withdraw from the race due to injury. 
The 2023 Dakar Rally.
The 2023 Dakar Rally.PAP/EPA/Andrew Eaton

Marek Goczał, the eldest member of the Goczał motor-racing clan, claimed Stage 2 after leading from start to finish, Polish state news agency PAP reported. 

Accompanied by experienced co-driver Maciej Marton, Marek Goczał won with a time of 5:45:31, ahead of Argentina’s Jeremías González Ferioli on 5:54:39 and Brazil’s Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira on 5:56:34, officials announced.  

Meanwhile, Marek Goczał’s son, 18-year-old Eryk, who had won Stage 1 to become the youngest Dakar stage winner, finished fifth this time, clocking a time of 6:09:49. 

Marek Goczał now tops the T4 class’ general ranking, with de Oliveira second, Ferioli third, and Eryk Goczał fourth, 14 minutes and 29 seconds behind his father. 

Moreover, Marek Goczał’s younger brother Michał sits fifth overall, 26 minutes and 59 seconds behind his sibling, news outlets reported.

Giemza withdraws due to shoulder injury

Poland’s Maciej Giemza, who competed in the bike class, was forced to withdraw from the Dakar Rally on Monday, after sustaining a fall early on in Stage 2. 

Giemza, who suffered a shoulder injury, had sat 22nd after Stage 1, the PAP news agency reported.

In the quad class, Poland’s Kamil Wiśniewski finished eighth in Stage 2 and is now seventh overall, more than 57 minutes behind the leader, France’s Alexandre Giroud.

Przygoński loses six hours but reaches finish line

Meanwhile, Poland’s Jakub Przygoński endured a difficult Stage 2 in the T1 class, trailing the leaders by about 2 hours already at the fourth checkpoint, according to the PAP news agency. 

Przygoński managed to complete the day’s racing, which totalled 431 kilometres in Special Stages from the Sea Camp to Al-‘Ula; he crossed the finish line in 132th place, more than six hours behind the winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar. 

After two stages, the Polish driver sits 117th, 6:07:34 behind Al-Attiyah, all but ending his hopes of a good overall finish, according to the PAP news agency.

Przygoński wrote on Instagram: “It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever experienced in Dakar but we are at the finish line. That's all that matters today!   

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Source: PAP, dakar.pl, dakar.com, thecheckeredflag.co.uk