Big Red riders still take top two spots in today’s Dakar Rally stage.
Team HRC’s dream day in Stage 3 of the Dakar Rally has been tempered by a 1-minute penalty handed down to unofficial stage winner Joan Barreda of Spain. The penalty dropped Barreda from first to fifth in the stage order, and he is now third overall in the rally standings, albeit only 46 seconds out of the lead. The change bumped HRC-supported Honda South America rider Kevin Benavides of Argentina to the stage win. Benavides of is now only 34 seconds behind Slovakian rider Stefan Svitko of the Rally Replica KTM team. Svitko finished fourth in today’s stage.
The weather conditions have caused the complete cancellation of Stage 1 and the shortening of Stage 2 and Stage 3. Riders started out today’s timed special from Check Point 1, located at race kilometer 112.91.
Even so, Honda South America Rally Team continued to build on yesterday’s success with Benavides’ win, and it shows that Honda is, for now, a serious threat to the dominance that KTM enjoyed with Marc Coma in recent years.
“Today was a nice stage for me,” Benavides said. “I really enjoyed it and it was a great one to ride: mountain tracks, hard ground and very few rocks. It really surprised me to finish in second place. I’m living for the day in the stages, and tomorrow’s strategy will be to look after the bike as we have now arrived at the marathon stage. I have to keep a firm foot on the ground and stay focused on the job.”
Benavides’ teammate Adrien Metge finished 24th, with Javier Pizzolito losing a bit of time but looking to attack tomorrow’s stage. Brazilian Jean Azevedo, who crashed yesterday, was able to come back with a 45th-place finish, regaining some of his lost time. Team HRC factory rider Paulo Goncalves, also had a god day, posting a third-place finish in the stage.
“I think that I had a good stage, especially for such a slippery mountain track,” Goncalves said. “I tried to maintain a good rhythm even with a safety margin, and I was able to make it onto the podium. What is up ahead will be more difficult, and that’s why I can’t make any mistakes, although with the weather as changeable as it is, we don’t know what to expect. The main thing is to be careful and not make any mistakes.”
All five of the Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally bikes made it back to the bivouac problem-free. Barreda and Goncalves’ teammates Michael Metge (France), Ricky Brabec (USA) and Paolo Ceci (Italy) finished the stage without conceding much time and all came in among the first 30 finishers.
“Today was just like yesterday,” Brabec said. “It was really fast and hard to make up a lot of time, but easy to lose a lot of time again. Today was awesome; the roads were good, the spectators were good and the navigation wasn’t that tricky. I rode well and I’m happy with my finish. We’re all here and ready to go again tomorrow.”
Tomorrow may prove to be more decisive than today, as the The San Salvador de Jujuy loop will be the first part of a marathon stage in which riders are forced to quarantine their bikes after the special stage. Only the riders themselves are allowed to carry out any mechanical revisions or repairs during a marathon stage. Before the start of Thursday’s stage, the riders will be handed back their machines in the same state that they were delivered to the parc ferme.
2016 Dakar Rally
Stage 3
Termas de Rio Hondo-Jujuy, Argentina
Results: January 5, 2016 (Updated)
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/2 hours, 31 minutes, 3 seconds
2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)/+00:00:26
3. Antoine Meo (FRA)/+00:00:27
4. Stefan Svitko (SVK)/+00:00:31
5. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Hon/+00:00:34 (after 1-minute penalty)
6. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yam/+00:01:36
7. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP)-KTM/+00:01:46
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL)-Hus/+00:01:52
9. Alain Duclos (FRA)-She/+00:01:55
10. Matthias Walkner (AUT)/+00:02:26
2016 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 3 of 13 stages) (Updated)
1. Stefan Svitko (SVK)-KTM/6 hours, 27 minutes, 4 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:00:34
3. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Hon/+00:00:46 (after 1-minute penalty)
4. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)-Hon/00:00:54
5. Alain Duclos (FRA)-She/+00:00:56
6. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:01:33
7. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL)-Hus/+00:03:24 (after 1-minute penalty)
8. Ruben Faria (PRT)-Hus/+00:03:43 (after 1-minute penalty)
9. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:04:49
10. Juan Pedrero Garca (ESP)-She/+00:06:19 (after 2-minute penalty)
Tomorrow’s Stage
January 6, 2016
Stage 4: San Salvador de Jujuy-San Salvador de Jujuy
Special sections: 429 km
Total: 629 km
Marathon 1: no mechanics
The timed special takes place at an average of 3500 meters altitude, with terrain ranging from sandy and rocky terrain. The stage is expected to test the fitness level of the riders.
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