Dakar 2025 // SS4: Krotov finishes first marathon day in fifth place
01/08/2025
- Lionel Baud with a strong performance
- Crews without service teams today
After today’s fourth stage, the first part of the marathon leg from Al-Henakiyah to Alula, participants are on their own. Drivers and navigators must take care of their vehicles independently but can rely on the help of their teammates. The teams themselves are already in Hail and will reunite with their crews there tomorrow. Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov navigated the stage in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i without any issues, securing fifth place. The father-daughter duo Lionel and Lucie Baud also had a very good day in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, finishing 14th. Thanks to this strong performance, they made a huge leap in the overall standings, climbing from 39th to 26th place.
Their teammates faced challenges. The rocky terrain took a toll on the tires, with sharp edges causing damage quickly, and every tire change costing valuable minutes. Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq finished the stage in 21st place in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0i but managed to hold onto 12th place in the overall standings. Similarly, João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro ended the day in 31st place in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d but remain in ninth place overall. Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel had particularly bad luck, needing to stop multiple times and losing an hour to the leader.
A special highlight is the return of Vladas Jurkevicius and Aisvydas Paliukenas to the race. The X-raid mechanics worked tirelessly all day yesterday and through the night to rebuild their MINI JCW Rally 3.0i after a severe crash. Remarkably, the two Lithuanians made it to the starting line on time and are currently still on the stage.
The two X-raid Fenic, with Annett Quandt and Maria Gameiro at the wheel, are also currently still on the route.
What’s next:
Tomorrow, participants will continue to Hail and reunite with their teams. There, they can look forward to Friday’s rest day and much-needed recovery. However, before that, they must tackle 428 kilometers against the clock on gravel tracks and sandy sections.
Quotes from the team
Guillaume de Mévius (#222 MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “A tough day for us. The stage was supposed to be rocky only at the beginning – but it was full of rocks throughout. We had a total of four punctures. We had to change two, repair one tire, and fix a rim. It was disappointing.”
Result stage 4
1. Y. Al-Rajhi / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 4h 26m 40s
2. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 4h 31m 31s
3. J. Yacopini / D. Oliveras – Toyota – 4h 37m 25s
4. M. Prokop / V. Chytka – Ford – 4h 37m 35s
5. D. Krotov / K. Zhitlsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 39m 57s
…
14. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 51m 58s
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22. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 5h 02m 09s
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31. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 5h 10m 31s
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56. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 5h 32m 57s
Overall standings
1. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 23h 36m 24s
2. Y. Al-Rajhi / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 23h 43m 18s
3. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 23h 58m 04s
4. M. Serradori / L. Minaudier – Century – 24h 06m 49s
5. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 24h 09m 49s
…
9. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 24h 47m 31s
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12. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 24h 57m 16s
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26. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 26h 48m 09s
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35. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 27h 04m 06s
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tba D. Krotov / K. Zhitlsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 70h 44m 12s
