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.”
SSVs
Cristiano Batista had a great start to the stage, leading Sara Price by 2′ 23″ and Florent Vayssade by 2′ 38″. At the halfway point, Batista was still comfortably leading, with Farress Guell in second and Sara Price right behind.
Meanwhile, João Ferreira, who was second before the start of Stage 9, was having mechanical issues just a few kilometers into the race. Sara Price also encountered problems at km 303 as she lost around 15 minutes to the stage leader.
The time lost by Sara Price and Ferreira allowed Xavier de Soultrait to widen the gap between him and his competitors.
In the end, Batista easily brought the win home for Stage 9, with a gap of 9′ 26″ over de Soultrait, and a margin of 10′ 38″ over Farres Guell. In the general standings, de Soultrait expanded his lead to 28′ 16″ over Sara Price, and he was also 31′ 10″ ahead of de Sadeleer.
Trucks
Martin Macík started the day strong, leading at the first checkpoint, while Janus van Kasteren was already struggling, having lost more than 7 minutes.
Gert Huzink later took the lead of the stage, with Macík following 1′ 37″ behind. Aleš Loprais was third, with a gap of 3′ 21″.
Huzink didn’t encounter problems on his way to victory. He was 1′ 32″ clear of Macík and 4′ 37″ ahead of Loprais. In the general standings, Macík was comfortably leading with a gap of almost 2 hours over Loprais, and he was also more than 2 hours ahead of Van Den Brink.