The Dakar Rally returned to Argentina today, Joan Barreda recorded another stage win and Marc Coma padded his overall rally lead.
Although it will hardly help his cause now, Team HRC Honda’s Joan Barreda proved once again that he has the speed to win the Dakar Rally as he claimed victory in the mountainous Stage 10 today.
Barreda, whose disastrous first marathon stage has relegated him to the role of spoiler, dominated today’s 756-kilometer stage, which begins a second marathon stage for the bikes. The riders crossed back into Argentina from Chile before the start of the day’s special stage. The special began at Salinas Grandes in the Andes Mountains, at an altitude of almost 12,000 feet above sea level, and it concluded with a technical finish. As if that wasn’t enough altitude, the transfer stage then passed through the Paso del Acay, which is located at an altitude of 16,300 feet above sea level!
Barreda had zero difficulties today, as he took the early lead in the special stage and never relinquished it, completing the 371-kilometer distance with a time of 4 hours, 7 minutes and 11 seconds.
“I got off to a great start this morning,” Barreda said. “Everything fell into place. It was easy because there wasn’t much in the way of navigation. It was basically a main track we had to follow. It’s a pity, what happened in Uyuni, on the salt flat… I was in the lead, the toughest part was over, the odds were stacked in my favor… There’s nothing I can do now apart from finishing like this. It’s just about helping the team and trying to get a good result.”
But while Stage 10 inched defending Dakar Rally Champion Marc Coma ever closer to another overall win, the Red Bull KTM rider has not yet broken cleanly away from rival Paulo Goncalves and the Team HRC Honda squad. Coma did enjoy another clockwork day on the Dakar, finishing second and seeing what started as a 5-minute, 29-second advantage over Goncalves grow to 7 minutes and 9 seconds.
“Each stage has its share of difficulties,” Coma said. “This morning we were still at very high altitudes. The temperature in the link section was -10 °C. This really saps your energy, whether you like it or not. The stage itself was relatively easy, even fun. We had rain and mud in some section, no big deal… I’m really taking things one stage at a time. This is an endurance race, a stamina race, and you have to take things one at a time.”
Goncalves finished a steady fifth today, behind KTM riders Ruben Faria and Toby Price, but he seemed to be content with his day went.
“Today was a fast stage, with little difficulty in way of navigation,” Goncalves said. “The track was a bit slippery at the beginning; you had to be careful. Soon there were four of us riding together. I think we rode well, saving our motorcycles, which was crucial because this evening’s a marathon stage. My motorcycle is ready for tomorrow already… and I’m ready to keep up the fight.”
Price’s fifth-place finish was good news for the Australian and bad news for Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla, who has experienced a rollercoaster ride in the Dakar in which he has won a stage but also suffered with navigational errors along the way. Quintallia’s eighth-place finish, behind Team HRC’s Helder Rodrigues and Stefan Svitko, Pablo Quintanilla, was only 6 minutes and 9 seconds off Barreda’s winning time, but he is now in danger of losing his third overall position in the rally to the amazing rookie, Price, who trails him by just 24 seconds in the overall standings.
Speaking of rookies, today’s stage marked the end of the road for another rookie, former MX3 Motocross World Champion Matthias Walkner, who was forced to withdraw due to illness while running 29th overall. Still, the Austrian can take comfort in the fact that his rookie effort in the Dakar Rally produced a stage victory, and with more experience he could be a force to be reckoned with in the 2016 event.
But one of the most amazing stories of this year’s rally continues to be the emergence of Team HRC Honda’s Laia Sanz as a true top-10 contender. The talented Spanish lady was 12th in Stage 10 today and continues to run a solid eighth overall. If she can avoid unforeseen reliability issues, she appears to be more than comfortable riding at a pace that will net her a top-10 finish in the Dakar Rally.
Frankly, we’d love to see it.
2015 Dakar Rally
Stage 10
Calama, Chile-Salta, Argentina
Results: January 14, 2015 (Stage 10 of 13)
1. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Hon/4 hours, 7 minutes, 11 seconds
2. Marc Coma (ESP)-KTM/+04:08:50
3. Ruben Faria (PRT)-KTM/+00:01:57
4. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:02:14
5. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)-Hon/+00:03:46
6. Stefan Svitko (SVK)-KTM/+00:06:22
7. Helder Rodrigues (PRT)-Hon/+00:06:26
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL)-KTM/+00:06:29
9. Ivan Jakes (SVK)-KTM/+00:08:59
10. Hans Vogels (NLD)-KTM/+00:10:19
2015 Dakar Rally Standings (After 10 of 13 rounds)
1. Marc Coma (ESP)-KTM/38 hours, 13 minutes, 58 seconds
2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)-Hon/+00:07:35
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL)-KTM/+00:32:42
4. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:32:06
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK)-KTM/+00:45:19
6. David Casteu (FRA)-KTM/+01:41:14
7. Ruben Faria (PRT)-KTM/+01:41:40
8. Laia Sanz (ESP)-Hon/+02:05:00
9. Ivan Jakes (SVK)-KTM/+02:25:51
10. Olivier Pain (FRA)-Yam/+02:50:11
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