Stage 1: Rosario – San Luis
Road connection: 405 km – Selective Section: 180 km – Road connection: 124 km – Total: 809 km
The weather was very hot today on the selective section of 180 km that joined Rosario and San Luis after a long road connection of 400 km. It was a short warm-up to let everyone find their own marks and the rhythm of the race, which has been announced as long and difficult.
The four Xtremeplus Polaris crews arrived to the bivouac wearing a smile; glad about their first stage and about their performances.
Willy Alcaraz N°350 – 63° in 2h59’07: “It was an amazing special, with beautiful landscapes. Awesome! The tracks were sinuous on plateau or foothills or right next to the mountains… It was very varied: rough, stony, fast, all kinds of terrain. I enjoyed it. The car is new and it worked very well. It was a beautiful day.”
Nicolas Duclos/Sébastien Delaunay N°364 – 79° in 3h00’33: “At the beginning, I drove calmly to take my pace and then I kept it. It was a beautiful special stage and it´s sad that I touched a slope because it was very slippery and that I lost tire pressure… So it felt like I was driving a truck until the end. The landscapes were amazing! One day down, tomorrow will be another day, and we will try to do the same.”
Yasir Saedan/Laurent Lichtleuchter N°386 – 79° in 3h07’17: “It was very slippery and sinuous, and that heats up the brakes and I didn´t have much grip. I also had one flat tire, but besides that there was an incredible amount of people along the roads, it´s magical!”
Garry Connell/Annie Seel N°366 – 86° in 3h10’04: “Splendid stage! The terrain was like it is in Australia, in the Safari Rally. Stones, narrow, sinuous… It was awesome, I had so much fun! We passed Robby Gordon twice, and also Ronan Chabot, it was fun! Only our brakes suffered due to the hot temperature and of all the braking.”