Team Opel Dakar 2nd in stage six

Stage six of the Africa Eco Race, following yesterays rest day, was a long liaison towards Mauritania followed by 174km of special over sand. The layout of the special means the competitors 'race' into Mauritania before heading to the finish in Chami. Szalay powered his Opel through the sand at an average speed of over 130km/h to reach the finish 2 minutes, 34 seconds ahead of Jean Antoine Sabatier who won his second stage today. The good news is the team finished four minutes ahead of overall race leader Schlesser and 6 minutes ahead of 5th placed Shagirov who sits in 5th place ahead of Szalay who remains 6th. The deficit to 5th is now 33 minutes 46 seconds with Turon Barrere a further 18 minutes down the road in 4th.

To stand on the podium, Szalay and László will have to make up 1 hour and 5 minutes in the final five stages of the race. At this pace they will overtake Sabatier who currently stands in third place. A monumental task, but expect the team to be pushing to acheive it.