Aliyyah Koloc was unlucky on the last day of the Dakar Rally

Today's final 12th stage of the Dakar Rally confirmed that the last step is often the hardest. Aliyyah Koloc was slowed down by a damaged rear arm of her car. MONACO, FRANCE, January 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today, the Buggyra ZM Racing team driver finished 48th in the stage and 35st overall. In the elite Ultimate category, she was the only woman to complete the challenging event. Martin Šoltys, who started outside the final standings after yesterday's technical problems, had to replace the compressor during the stage. The experienced driver, competing for Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing, was classified 18th in the stage. His teammate, Karel Poslední, finished 15th today and claimed 11th place in the final truck standings. He also earned the title of best rookie in this category.

The final stage of this year's Dakar proved literally brutal for Aliyyah Koloc, contrary to the 20-year-old rider's initial expectations. "I thought it would be a slightly easier day, and I thought I would enjoy the smaller dunes. But 20 kilometers before the finish, the triangle on my rear arm broke. We had to replace it, which took a really long time. Eventually, we managed to put it back together," she explained, describing the first problem.

However, more issues soon arose. "When we got going, after about four or five kilometers, I felt something strange. I checked the car and saw that the wheel hub had cracked and started to smolder. So we had to replace the wheel hub as well. Plus, the rear brakes were literally fried. That's why we could only use the front brakes and had to lock the differential. Fortunately, there weren't too many big dunes in the last fifteen kilometers, so we managed to get to the finish. Sometimes we had to turn around because we didn't have power on all four wheels. I had to go around the dunes more, and I didn’t want to damage the differential. The finish was very tough, but we are finally here," Aliyyah Koloc sighed with relief.

Martin Šoltys and his crew also faced mechanical challenges. "The compressor gave out—material fatigue. But we didn’t give up. When I got out of the car and saw how it was covered in oil and there was a big oil trail behind us, I felt completely helpless. Luckily, Karel Poslední gave us a compressor. We replaced it, even though we were the last car on the track. A helicopter even came to check on us, and a member of the organizing team asked if we planned to continue. But by then, we were already closing the side panels and were good to go," described Tomas Šikola, the mentally and physically exhausted on-board mechanic of the Tatra Buggyra EVO3.

Dakar rookie Karel Poslední enjoyed the final day of his debut. "I’ve completed my first Dakar. I finished it, so that’s good. On the way, we helped Martin, and Alča was also on the track. Even the last sixty kilometers can be tricky. We are eleventh overall, which is great. I couldn’t have asked for more. The fact that I finished the Dakar is already a victory for me," said the Tatra Phoenix pilot.

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