Solar Team Twente covered the 475 kilometers in a time of 7 hours and 39 minutes. This meant they only had to leave the Belgian team from Leuven in front. The Agoria Solar Team covered the course in 7 hours and 21 minutes. The fact that the team from Twente finished second is especially impressive because the start did not run smoothly. Just outside the starting area of Agadir, the RED Horizon was forced to pull over for a few minutes due to a mechanical problem.
Solar Team Twente lost two places, but recovered strongly later in the stage and overtook four cars. The Groningen team, Top Dutch Solar Racing, was the first to start yesterday, but arrived at the bivouac in Zagora over an hour after the Twente team. Because Twente also left Delft behind, it can call itself the best Dutch team for the time being.
Wild animals
Solar Team Twente prepared for the situations in Morocco down to the last detail, but according to team leader Colin van Laar it was sometimes still exciting. 'You have to anticipate unexpected situations such as misfiring, strong winds and wild animals. Those kinds of situations make the race extra dynamic.'
Today the caravan left Zagora at 9:00 am (8:00 am Moroccan time) for Merzouga for stage 2. Merzouga is a village located almost on the Algerian border. Not only is this stage the longest of the five, according to Van Laar it is also the most difficult. 'We are driving through the mountains. That brings new challenges. This is definitely the toughest stage of the five.'
