Vaidotas Zala: “We were on the limit of getting stuck in the river”

Dakar 2023 | Stage 9 | HAIL > ALULA
January 10 ^th 2023 - 15:35 [GMT + 3]

 Since stage five, Vaidotas Zala has not left the top ten. Today, between Riyadh and Haradah, the Lithuanian finished second, making it his second podium finish in three stages… where could he have been without the regrets of the first week…?

“It was a fast and fun day, though at one point we were really scared, because we had to cross massive rivers with a lot of water and it seemed like we were on the limit of getting stuck in the river, so we were happy to get through, because we saw some spectators’ cars stuck in these massive wadis of water. That was unusual, to see so much water in the desert. But, apart from that, it was quite a nice day. We caught up with a few cars and I knew from the midway point that the time should be okay. We started as the tenth car on the road, so we had some traction and it wasn’t a problem. It was more the amount of water that was a bit of a challenge. The navigation was tricky in some places. One point was especially tricky and we had to circle a bit. Paolo did a great job and we didn’t lose too much time there and I think some of the leaders must have got lost there”.