After moving to within 1 minute of 2018 Dakar Rally overall leader Adrien Van Beveren during Stage 5, Monster Energy Honda Kevin Benavides of Argentina moved into the overall lead yesterday, during a difficult Stage 6 that had to be abbreviated.
Rally officials truncated the route after deeming a section of the 313-kilometer timed special to be unsafe due to rain and snow, which turned part of the route into a quagmire, causing several motorcycle competitors to crash. Benavides was one of them, but he came out of it relatively unscathed en route to a co-second-place finish, 30 seconds behind the stage winner, Red Bull KTM’s Antoine Meo of France.
“I am very proud because it is the first time that an Argentine rider has led the Dakar Rally,” Benavides said. “I’m very happy too, because the idea was to get as high up the rankings as possible before the rest stage, so I cannot be happier. I’m a little tired. We’ve had rain, mud, fast roads. But I was fast and felt comfortable on the bike. Now we have a day to rest and prepare the second week.”
The stage worked out well for Meo, too, who finished just in front of teammate and 2016 Dakar Rally Champion Toby Price physically after Price briefly moved into the stage lead. Meo collected the win when the official results were posted, with a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 10 seconds, making him the fourth different overall leader in six stages of the 2018 Dakar Rally. Benavides and Price tied, finishing with concurrent 1:54:40 times.
Monster Energy Honda’s Joan Barreda was first on the clock in the slick and water-logged, timed special, and the Spanish speedster went down after losing the front end in a puddle. Barreda was lucky to avoid any injury or bike damage, and he soldiered on to finish ninth in the stage, 3:30 behind Meo.
While he finished better than Barreda, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally’s Van Beveren lost out on the 2018 Dakar Rally overall rally lead after finishing eighth, 3:27 off Meo’s time.
“It was a very long day, but we managed to reach the La Paz bivouac without any problem,” ABV said. “It was raining for the most part of the day, and in the liaison section it was really, really cold. The timed special was quite fast, without any technical difficulties. The goal was not to make any navigational mistakes and reach the finish with a good overall time. I am happy I made it happen, and now we are here in the La Paz bivouac. So far everything is going well, and I’m happy I got to the rest day in second overall. The gap to the leader is really small, and with one more full week of racing, anything can happen.”
In-between Benavides/Price and ABV were MEC Team’s Martin Duplessis, Himoinsa Racing Team’s Daniel Oliveras, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla and HT Rally Raid Husqvarna’s Daniel Jager. Monster Energy Honda’s Michael Metge completed the top 10. Quintanilla, who is back in the top six after struggling with a motorcycle issue in Stage 5, admitted that it was a tough day.
“Today was a long stage,” Quintanilla said. “the liaison was especially tough. It was really cold and very wet in places. The special stage was very fast, and quite dangerous due to the deep water. I’m happy with my pace, though, and for me it was important to place between fifth and 10th to get a good start position for the next stage. I only lost a couple of minutes from the leader, so that’s good. The bike was awesome today, and I’m feeling good, so I look forward to the next stage.”
American riders Ricky Brabec and Andrew Short both struggled in Stage 6, with Brabec finishing 19th and Short 28th. Brabec now sits 11h overall.
“Today was worse than yesterday,” Brabec said. “The rain was pretty difficult, and if we were lucky we got three and a half hours sleep. Yesterday was a long day, not with the stages, but with the liaisons and modifications, getting back to the bivouac late and going to bed late. Getting up at three in the morning Bolivia time, so it was really two in the morning… It was the hardest day so far; it wasn’t even hard riding but it was mentally fatiguing. The stage was fast; I don’t know how we lost time in the stage, it’s weird. I didn’t have any problems in the stage. I hit the water really hard, and I hit my face on the dashboard. I don’t know how these guys are making up time on us, and that’s difficult to swallow. There’s seven more days and we’ll push.”
Short sits 22nd overall.
“That was a tough day for me today,” Short said. “The terrain has changed a lot from the dunes of Peru. I had my first high-speed rally crash, so I am glad to get that out of the way. I struggled a little with the speed of the stage with everything coming at me so fast. It was wet out there, too, and the tracks turned quite muddy in places. I think I prefer that over dust, though, if it had been dry things would have been even more dangerous. Coming into La Paz it was amazing to see all the people, and the atmosphere in the city so that was cool. It’s rest day now so I’ll enjoy that and then back on it for Saturday.”
La Paz, Bolivia, plays host to the 2018 Dakar Rally rest day today, allowing the riders and teams to prepare for Saturday’s Stage 7, the first part of the marathon stage in which only the riders will be able to make repairs to their machines between Stage 7 and Stage 8.
2018 Dakar Rally
Arequipa, Peru, to La Paz, Bolivia
Results: January 11, 2018 (Stage 6 of 14)
Stage 6
1. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 1 hour, 54 minutes, 10 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:00:30
3. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:00:30
4. Martin Duplessis (ARG)-Honda Argentina MEC Team / +00:01:13
5. Daniel Oliveras (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:01:55
6. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +00:02:00
7. Daniel Nosiglia (BOL)-HT Husqvarna Rally Team / +00:02:13
8. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:03:27
9. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:03:30
10. Michael Metge (FRA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:03:37
11. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:06:16
28. Andrew Short (USA)- Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +00:10:29
2018 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 6 of 14 stages)
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / 16 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds
2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:01:57
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:03:50
4. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:09:33
5. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:09:39
6. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:10:42
7. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:11:24
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)- Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +00:16:42
9. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:18:08
10. Stefan Svitko (SLO)-Slovnaft Team / +00:29:11
11. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:30:34
22. Andrew Short (USA)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +01:20:10
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