URUMQI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Taklimakan Rally continued on Monday in Shanshan, Turpan in northwest China, as racers drove their cars in the Kumtag Desert to scramble for the "Golden Helmet" of this stage.

Monday's competition began at a scenic spot that was famous for a mirage in Shanshan, and covered 390.74 kilometers with a nearly 298-kilometer special stage. After Sunday's test, from rugged track and scorching weather, all racers strove for a better performance in the second special stage.

Han Wei, who got into a tire blowout accident in the last stage, looked relaxed after finishing the competition on Monday. "Everything went well, the car was in good condition, my pilot also did a great job, it was really a wonderful day," he said.

Defending champion French racer Christian Lavieille ranked the 11th to departure, and finished this stage smoothly as well. He says he has adapted to the hot weather in Kumtag Desert.

"The weather won't be a major problem for me, I have made sufficient preparation for each stage, every racer may face different problems during the Rally, I'll just keep my pace and solve them one after another," he said.

Chen Feng, a racer from Soaring Dragon Team praised his pilot Wang Yicheng for his excellent performance, saying that Wang insisted on finishing the competition on Sunday when he was obviously under the weather, and that Monday his performance was even better. As for the result of this stage, Chen says that if their ranking can be around 10th, it will be more advantageous for them in the following stage.

On Tuesday, racers will continue to compete in a 327-kilometer stage, which is the last special stage in Shanshan.