A CRUSHING BLOW: JUST HOW MANY BLACK CATS HAS LATEGAN SEEN?
Henk Lategan probably thought he had seen it all on this Dakar after being towed over the finishing line yesterday by his team-mate Toby Price. The South African’s power steering broke down but fortunately he was able to repair it at the pit-stop set up for tyre changes. Several kilometres from the end of the special, he ran out of fuel and declared in frustration, “I don't know what to say any more. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong on this race. I have amazing teammates and a fantastic car, but no luck. Everything that has happened to me in my previous participations happened all at once in this edition. It's unbelievable”.
Despite all this misfortune, Lategan still occupied 2nd place in the race this morning, 12’ behind Nasser Al Attiyah. However, today, rotten luck pursued Toyota Hilux number 202. After breaking a bolt on his left rear wheel and an umpteenth repair session, the South African completed the special four hours after the day’s winner. When your luck is out, it really is out… Henk is continuing on the route to Yanbu but now with his focus turned towards Abu Dhabi, which is where the World Championship will end this season. Each daily performance on the first leg of the season can bring valuable points for the man who finished third in 2025 after having battled for victory. Maybe an inspection of his car would be a good idea, just to check he does not have a black cat hitching a ride with him…
