The 2026 Dakar Rally continued on Tuesday with stage 9 from Wadi Ad Dawasir to Bivouac Refuge, marking the first half of the second marathon test. But for Buggyra ZM Racing the day brought heavy news.
-- Following an on-stage incident and a resulting arm injury, Aliyyah Koloc was forced to withdraw and will not be able to continue in this year’s event.
According to Martin Koloc, Buggyra’s team principal, Aliyyah finally benefitted from a better starting position, allowing her to stay clear of the worst dust and to focus on her own pace. At the first waypoints, she was showing speed, running on the edge of the top twenty and matching the factory crews in pace.
Aliyyah explained the sequence of events: “After around 70 kilometers, a belt snapped. The repair took a long time, and several cars passed us. Once we managed to fix it and carry on, we spent a long time stuck behind one car. I overtook it, then came a right-hand corner, and in the dust I couldn’t see the ditch at all, We hit it, damaged the steering pipe, and my arm twisted badly in the impact. The injury is very painful,” Aliyyah said.
“With this extent of injury, it’s absolutely impossible for Aliyyah to continue,” Martin Koloc said. “I’m sorry it ended like this. I apologise to the team and to the sponsors, this isn’t the finish we wanted. Overall, this Dakar hasn’t been easy for us, but hopefully we will come back stronger next year,” Aliyyah concluded.
Martin Koloc also noted that stage 9 proved tougher than anticipated. “Despite the predictions that it wouldn’t be very difficult, today’s stage showed the opposite. The dune fields were extremely demanding and very hard to get through in places, especially in the soft sand, where many crews got stuck,” he said, adding that the marathon format without team service places extreme demands on both the machinery and the crews.
The Dakar Rally continues on tomorrow with stage 10 from Bivouac Refuge to Bisha (420 kilometers of special stage, 50 kilometers of liaison), but unfortunately without Aliyyah Koloc in the Ultimate category.
This Dakar is the first of the four editions Aliyyah has contested that she has been unable to finish. A tough milestone that only fuels her determination to come back stronger.
Martin Šoltys selflessly helped Prokop, Karel Poslední returned to the bivouac in the marathon stage
The ninth stage marked the start of the second marathon part of the Dakar Rally, run without evening assistance from mechanics. The Buggyra ZM Racing truck drivers came through another demanding test. Martin Šoltys, driving the Buggyra Invictus truck, was classified in eighth place and is now closing in on the top twenty of the overall standings. Karel Poslední reached the temporary tent camp in his Tatra Buggyra EVO3, but due to a loss of engine power he decided to return to the bivouac. He is set to continue in the Dakar Rally on Thursday.
Martin Šoltys once again had to deal with a high number of overtaking maneuvers. “As we started from the back, we spent most of the first half overtaking a lot of buggies. It was tough, but it worked out and we managed to move forward,” he said.
As always, the Buggyra Invictus driver thoroughly enjoyed the dunes. In the sand, he then helped his compatriot Martin Prokop, whose car refused to start and remained stuck in a hole between the dunes.
“About thirty kilometers before the finish, we came across Martin Prokop. We pulled him out, then towed his car and managed to get it started. So we spent a bit of time messing around in the dunes, and then we reached the finish without any further issues,” Martin Šoltys described the dramatic moments.
Karel Poslední also experienced drama in the dunes. “We got stuck. Jordi Esteve from Spain helped us get moving, but we still had to dig ourselves out afterwards,” said the driver of truck number 615.
Although the Tatra Buggyra EVO3 reached the temporary camp of the marathon stage, Karel Poslední ultimately decided to return to the main bivouac. “We were lacking power and I didn’t want to risk getting permanently stuck the next day. But we will do everything we can to continue in the Dakar Rally on Thursday,” the truck driver added.
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