Ballito navigator Ryan and German racing partner Daniel take on the Dakar

Ballito navigator Ryan Bland and his German driving partner Daniel Schröder are back in action at the Dakar Rally making their way across the treacherous Saudi Arabian desert.

Featuring 14 stages this year and starting at Sea Camp on the shores of the Red Sea, the epic race is set to come to an end on the Arabian Peninsula this Saturday.

Should the duo complete the race, they will have conquered nearly 5 000km of treacherous terrain which is made up of around 70 percent new tracks.

In the build-up to stage 9 on Tuesday, the team experienced some trouble during the previous stage.

Daniel said they had to cautiously make their way through rocky trails because of damage to their rear axle.

“We were off to a slow start to begin with after suffering a puncture as well. It wasn’t too bad, but we did lose some time,” he said.

The team then continued toward the dune section which proved to be another difficult obstacle to cross owing to wet conditions. Normally this would mean they would have improved grip while driving, but their VK50 Nissan Navara 5.0L V8 kept losing power.

“We got stuck at one point and had to use the jack to free ourselves and continue the race,” Daniel said.

The duo were not out of the woods just yet, and actually clipped another car which snuck up on them in the dunes section.

“It was carnage out there,” they said.

Ryan and Daniel were making their way towards Riyadh for the start of stage 9 in 31st place, a 358km stretch towards Haradh.

This is the first stage after a rest day and where robust handling skills will prove important as they make their way through the wadis and canyons which make up the first part of stage 9.

From there they will go off track and rely on Ryan’s skills as a navigator to lead them through two hazards in the special category, and then face a chain of dunes on their way back to the bivouac.

Last year the two finished in 36th place, with Daniel coming in as a late replacement for his dad Jürgen who was forced to retire from the race following a shoulder injury.

This year’s race will prove a touch more difficult with Daniel nearly losing his voice, certainly making navigation that much more difficult.

Follow the race live at dakar.com.

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