The Polish crews of the Challenger vehicles nos. 302 and 310 underwent gearbox and clutch checks during the rest day.
These inspections uncovered a breach of the FIA Technical Regulations, namely, Appendix J, Article 286-2.3. Specifically, their clutches were found to be made of carbon, a material prohibited for this element.
As a result, the pairs consisting of Eryk Goczał-Oriol Mena and Michał Goczał-Szymon Gospodarczyk have been disqualified from the 2024 Dakar.
The crews in question have been heard by the officials and waived their right to appeal this penalty.
They will not take the start of stage 7 from Riyadh to Al Duwadimi.
The young Eryk Goczał was holding the overall lead in the Challenger class, which will now go to his closest pursuer, Mitch Guthrie, ahead of Cristina Gutiérrez and “Chaleco” López.