Today was the first stage of the South African Safari Rally, in which Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, with the Ford Raptor, finished second in the 260-kilometer timed special stage.

Yesterday was the prologue stage, in which the Spanish driver finished eleventh. But today, the Ford pair attacked from the rear and managed to reach the finish line in second place, despite visibility problems and dust, which puts them second in the overall standings after this first day.

Carlos Sainz: “Happy with today’s special stage. I think we entered the rally with a good pace. We finished second, and I think it’s a good classification. The second place, above all, because the windshield wiper water was not working and we had to stop in the middle of the special to pour water. At other times we couldn’t see well, which penalized us a bit. Otherwise, we are happy with the car. The race has just started and we’ll see how the marathon stage goes tomorrow.”

Tomorrow the second stage of the South African Safari Rally will be held, the marathon stage, which is expected to be hard and difficult. It will consist of 357 kilometers timed and a 269 kilometers liaison.