SAN RAFAEL – The Dakar Rally 2014 promised be the toughest in history. After a tough first day, the second special stage took many victims. The HRX Fords of Riwald Dakar Team showed their speed with the impressive twelfth position of Erik Wevers. However, the sand dunes of Nihuil created quite some problems.

Bernhard ten Brinke was stuck at sixty kilometres from the finish, with a broken driveshaft. During his debut in 2012, Ten Brinke scored an impressive eighth position in the overall standings, but in the second special stage of 2014, he lost a lot of time. Gert Huzink was stuck a few kilometres earlier after a stone smashed the oil pump. Both drivers had to wait for service trucks Eimert Timmermans and Paul Verheyden. Paul lost time himself because he got stuck in the dunes. Both Ten Brinke and Huzink are being dragged to the bivouac.

Erik Wevers proved that the speed of the HRX Ford is impressive and he is still in the top of the standings: “Before the dunes started, we have lost some time because we had chosen the wrong path. Also in the dunes navigating proved to be very tricky. I stopped at the stranded Van Loon, to see if we could help them with parts. But unfortunately that was not the case. Towards the finish we touched a biker. He was exhausted. We have helped him, but he seemed too tired to even get up on his bike again. All in all it was a tough day, but not as heavy as the opening stage. It’s nice that we still have ended in twelfth, despite the delays.”

The third stage once again promises to be a heavy one: gravel roads with lots of stones and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Moreover, in this area lately a lot of rain has fallen. Erik Wevers’ navigator Fabian Lurquin estimates the stage could be a real challenge.

Check out more 2014 Dakar updates on Off-Road.com.