Wojciech „Rozi” Rozmus, one half of Stag BC Rally Team:
10 stages, including 4 driven in reverse, put quite a strain on the equipment. The guys’ dreams are coming true. Who would have thought that Leszek Kuzaj, Michał Kościuszko and Mariusz Woźniczko would compete alongside us? But they had different toys – Yamaha 1000 Rs.
Our crew consists of Grzegorz Kunka and Wojciech Rozmus. After familiarising ourselves with the route, the first stages began. The organiser had prepared the tracks quite well, so the terrain was already somewhat familiar to us, but it was still dangerous for the equipment. It was not speed that mattered here, but technique.
We drove the first loop quite aggressively, which resulted in a major jump and damage to the radiator, but we did not give up and fought to the end. We decided to save the situation by patching the radiator and heading out for the next battle.
The second loop was a challenge for us, both technically and mechanically. There were twelve cars in the class, several of them four-wheel-drive, and drivers who knew exactly why they were there. A quick calculation showed that our rear-wheel-drive BMW had to survive. We moved into third place after two runs, but that did not mean we would make it to the finish. The problem was the radiator; during the second run, the competition was also falling apart: rollovers, punctures and broken suspensions.
A conversation at the service area with our photographer friend Darek gave us great hope, because Darek arrived in the same BMW and lent us his new radiator. There was only one goal – to bring third place to the finish. We made it; it was really tough. We took third place in Class 4 and eighth overall. Dust, sand and rocks—the Dakar in its purest form.
Grzegorz Kunka and Wojciech Rozmus thank the organisers, judges and competitors for the great atmosphere. They also thank the photographers who “bravely took these wonderful pictures in such difficult conditions”.
WR/ii