Pharaons first stage suddenly heated pilots tempers, most of all because of the high temperatures that accompanied them during the whole day, reaching 48 degrees. A difficult day, especially for navigation, that created some important plot twist.
The 221 km Special Stage, rode among scenographic canyons and old caravan tracks, brought the 2014 Pharaons first surprise: Nasser Al Attiyah actually took the wrong track around km 100 by squeezing in the wrong valley and leaving almost thirteen minutes to today winner, Saudi Yazeed Al-Rajhi who made today a competition based on an attack strategy.
Behind him the World Cup leader Vladimir Vasilyev, from Russia with a delay of 3’50’’. Vasilyev leads the small three Mini all4Racing squad, in front of Dutch Erik Van Loon and Al Attiyah. Fifth and sixth position for the two Hummer H3, with Kazakh Yuriy Sazonow and Czech Miroslav Zapletal.
Seventh position for Marek Dabrowski, delayed by an electric problem and arrived before Tarek El Erian, first Egyptian pilot to reach the finish line.
Among bikes the best time was made by Venezuelan Nicolas Cardona, but he got a penalty for having missed a waypoint. Today winner so, is Bolivian Salvatierra, who lost lot of time because of a mistake but that made fastness his better weapon. Behind him Italian Stefano Chiussi, with a delay of 8 minutes from Salvatierra, while the other Venezuelan Rafael Eraso has a delay of more than twenty minutes and is behind italian Stefano Turchi.