The hydrogen-powered HySE-X1 is on course to finish the 46th Dakar Rally after a strong run on Monday’s short 77km eighth stage between Al-Duwadimi and Ha’il in north-central Saudi Arabia.
Jamie Campbell and Bruno Jacomy had run out of fuel on Sunday’s longer, sandier stage, but on the firmer, faster tracks to Ha’il their revised plan worked perfectly. The Overdrive Racing-built car finished ahead of the other cars in its group and collected 10 bonus points.
“We had a great day today. It was more my style of racing, like back home in the desert with a lot of hard pack (hard ground), a lot of valleys and a few sand washes but not too bad. I felt really comfortable. Bruno was again on point with the navigation. We were cautious when we needed to slow down, fast when we needed to go fast and, overall, it was a fun day. We got to open up the car a little bit and go a little faster. We got the bonus (10 points) and finished as first four-wheel vehicle. I am super happy with that. The hydrogen engine was unbelievable. It was screaming, 9000 rpm. It was awesome hearing it behind us. It gave me motivation!”
Jamie Campbell, Driver
“Stage eight was a rather short stage at 77km. Based on the data and experience we’ve acquired in the Dakar so far, I asked Jamie and Bruno to run as fast as possible on today’s stage, while being careful about their remaining hydrogen levels. They executed this plan well and were able to finish earlier than the target time and earn 10 bonus points. I appreciate this. Tomorrow will be another long stage, 119km, so I want to plan our strategy well.”
Keita Nakanishi, Project Leader of HySE Dakar Project
Stage 7 after the rest day
After the rest day in Riyadh, Sunday’s 112km sandy stage from the capital to Al-Duwadimi proved too long. A small navigation error added five or six kilometres, and the HySE-X1 ran out of fuel at around the 95km mark. With the car’s limited fuel capacity, the team had rated its chances of finishing the full stage at 50/50 anyway.
HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology) competes in the Mission 1000 class of the Dakar Future Programme with an SSV developed by Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Toyota and Yamaha.