With 417 kilometers of special for Stage 9, it doesn’t make it the longest of this Dakar so far. However, the organization promised that it would push all competitors “to the brink mentally.”
“The start of the special gives the impression of a fast stage, but the entrants will soon be disabused of that idea,” a Dakar representative said. “Here, the tracks are more felt than seen, making navigation even trickier.”
“Confidence will be as important as skill to find the right pace while racing on the rocky plateaus.”
Bikes
Adrien Van Beveren was able to clinch today’s stage victory after opening the way for everyone else, which awarded him over 5 minutes and 30 seconds of bonifications from the organization.
Behind him was Ricky Brabec from Honda by only 42 seconds. If not for Van Beveren’s well-deserved bonifications, the American would’ve claimed the win. There’s not much for him to complain though, as he leads the overall rankings over Ross Branch, who’s only 7 minutes behind.
The podium was completed by Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla. It’s a good result, but he sits 17th in the overall timings, losing almost 5 hours to the leader. Penalties didn’t help him either.
Stage 9 proved difficult for the Benavides brothers, who yesterday had monopolized the podium. Kevin finished 6th today, while Luciano 8th. Still, a finish inside the top 10 for both is a job well done.
Kevin is this years’ defending champion, and sits 5th in the overall rankings with a gap of 28 minutes to the lead. The Dakar title is not out of his hands yet…
Cars
The Audi trio was first to cross the finish line but that didn’t mean they were the fastest. Of them, Carlos Sainz placed higher, achieving 2nd place in the stage timing sheets. He was followed by Stephane Peterhansel in P7, and Mattias Ekstrom in P9.
It was a good stage for the team that allowed Sainz to retain his lead in the overall standings.
It was Sebastien Loeb who won the stage this time, his 27th in the Dakar. He was more than 4 minutes ahead of Sainz. In the overall rankings, the Frenchman sits in second place, a little over 20 minutes behind the leader.
Lucas Moraes finished today’s stage in 8th place after struggling with navigation. However, that didn’t affect his 3rd position in the overall rankings, and still has more than 25 minutes of advantage to fourth-placed Gillaume de Mevius.
Quads
Alexandre Giroud picked up his fourth stage victory in this year’s rally. The French rider finished a little over 3 minutes ahead of second-placed Manuel Andujar.
Andujar leads the overall standings, but his dominance is challenged by other top contenders, lowering his advantage from more than 11 minutes to a little over 8 minutes.