It seems that they could not stand each other’s company.

Perhaps not everyone can survive 15 consecutive days in a confined space, side by side, even with their best friend. And if it happens in the Arabian desert, the sun heats the air to +30 degrees Celsius during the day, the frost drops to zero at night and in the morning, and you both roll around in a tin buggy and pay for every mistake with a puncture and hours of repairs without outside help – only a very patient person will not get away with it. This is the Dakar, the ultimate racing adventure on the planet, and hundreds of people every year spend between 20 and 30 thousand euros just on entry fees (excluding equipment and spare parts) to survive it and test themselves. Ricardo Ramilo and Xavi Blanco’s ATV 438, a Spanish crew, particularly excelled in the last Dakar. They punctured all the tyres they had taken with them to Saudi Arabia on stage nine and wanted to retire from the race – but, for the Dakar Experience class, they were able to reach the finish on a race route outside the classification without being timed. Riccardo and Xavi took the opportunity and raced for two more days – and then the organisers forcibly removed the crew from the race. What happened? On the 170th kilometre of the penultimate stage, co-driver Blanco got out of the car and was left in the desert. What happened? On the 170th and penultimate kilometre of the special stage, co-driver Blanco got out of the car and remained in the desert. Ramilho continued the race , but after the checkpoint of the next high-speed stage, Ramilho was not allowed to pass. In the SSV class, even outside the classification, you are not allowed to drive without a navigator. “Rumours immediately spread on the Dakar social networks: the participants had a falling out, so bad that it was impossible to continue the route together. After returning to Spain, Xavi and Ricardo confirmed this theory in interviews with various local publications “This individual made the team unbearable every day, not behaving very well in the car – Blanco told Marc – But he was already getting into difficult situations. I told Ricardo to stop the car, I got out and he told me: “Stay here!” and drove off! I waited for an hour in the middle of the desert for the team to come for me. He left me there. His attitude speaks for itself. Don’t call him a pilot. He’s not a pilot, he’s just a character. I got out because I was really in danger, he was driving very carelessly and I couldn’t leave it all. ” “I was really scared for my life,” added the El Espanol driver. But he just got angry and shouted that he wouldn’t be the last. In the end, I said I wanted to go out and take a breath. The pilot stopped and said, “So stay here.” I literally unpacked my things at the last moment. He left with the passenger door open. Then Ricardo said he came back and supposedly tried to find me. This is his version of events. ” “The Dakar organisers announced immediately after the incident that the driver refused to return to the car, after which Ramilo continued the race. He has a completely different perspective on the incident. “It wasn’t – mainly because Xavi didn’t stay in the desert,” The driver explained to Deportes Cuatro. – Then we just passed one checkpoint on the highway and got to another, again on the highway. There was no sign of the desert. It is sad to hear these tales, but he is a master of sensationalism. I didn’t need a babysitter, Xavi left me: no cable, no phone to charge, no satellite connection, no map, no checkpoints to record. And then I found out that I couldn’t take them alone at all. However, nobody wanted to check my movements in the car using GPS, but the data will clearly show who is telling the truth. Yes, Xavi made me take my foot off the accelerator, to which I responded: “I’ll lift it if you want, but then you’d better go for a walk. Because I don’t want to be the last one to arrive.” “It was my decision to get off.” Blanco confirmed to AS. “But it was because of his dangerous driving. It wasn’t the first or second time and he ignored everything [my comments]. We in the team put up with this character for 15 days – watch the video on his Instagram account and you’ll understand everything. ” Such an event, it seems, did not occur in the history of the Dakar until 2021. Fantastic raiders! Source – Sports.ru Photo – Pixabay