Despite some navigational challenges in the morning, KTM’s Marc Coma still remains in control of the Dakar Rally. Photography by RallyZone Bauer/Barni.
The HRC team shook off a disappointing day on Stage 8 and made a statement on Stage 9 today by taking four of the top-five positions. After losing over 3 hours yesterday, Helder Rodrigues rebounded to capture the stage victory ahead of his HRC teammate, Paulo Goncalves, who kept the pressure on Marc Coma, and gained over 3 minutes on the leader today.
Coma had a navigation mistake due to the early morning fog, as riders began their route from Iquique south toward Calama, Chile. But the Red Bull KTM rider remained steadfast, and spent the remaining miles of the special making up for it. Although he did concede some time to Goncalves today, his third-place finish kept his lead well in tact.
“It was a good day after a tough day like yesterday,” Coma said. “So today was a better day. At the moment everything is still far off, so we’re looking at the next day only. There is a long way still in front of us, so we will take it step by step.”
The HRC team rebounded well after yesterday’s disappointment, with Barreda (left), Goncalves (center) and Rodrigues (right) all finishing in the top-5 on Stage 9. Photography by HRC.
Goncalves’ strategy is much the same as Coma’s.
“I’m here to give my best, to fight day-by-day,” Goncalves said. “Today it was a really difficult stage again. I finished well today and recovered some time from yesterday, so now I’m second overall. But this is not really important because we have four days more in front of us to race. Many things can happen. I will try and I will keep fighting – me and team HRC – to get the best overall position possible. We will keep fighting and the strategy is to try and keep the bike safe – only that.”
Today riders faced another complicated stage of 335 miles (539km), which Rodrigues called “very hard, but nothing compared to yesterday.”
“The stage was great. In the beginning there was a lot of sand,” Rodrigues said. “I pushed a lot at the beginning and had to concentrate a lot to navigate well. At refueling I saw I had got a good time. The result today is a possible win for me. I pushed a little bit then I saw Paulo [Goncalves] catch up with me. I waited a little bit so I didn’t kick up too much dust for him, so he passed me but then he got lost. I found the waypoint first and I finished here with a good time. Yesterday was very hard for us and today was just fun and the aim was to just get to the finish.”
After losing three hours yesterday, Honda’s Helder Rodrigues took a convincing stage win today. Photography by HRC.
KTM’s Pablo Quintanilla struggled to navigate in the foggy dunes this morning, and lost some time. Although he still sits third overall, he fell back another 15 minutes today.
“It was very tough, very complicated right from the start of the special,” Quintanilla said. “I still rode a good stage and didn’t make too many mistakes. I don’t know whether I’m fighting for the title… I’m just riding my own race and trying to keep my wits about me. In any case, there are still plenty of kilometers to be covered before the finish.”
KTM’s Toby Price also found today’s stage tough, but garnered another top-10 finish and retains his position of fourth in the overall standings.
“We started out really well,” Price said, “we made up some time and I was sitting well, but then we couldn’t find a waypoint and we all got lost a bit. It was unfortunate. I just spent too much time trying to find it and a lot a lot of time. That’s just the way it is. We’re here at the finish and that’s the main thing. I’m looking forward to another day. I didn’t expect to be in the top 10 for my first Dakar so being where I am is good. We’ll keep trying our best and we’ll end up where we end up. It’s all a learning experience for me at the moment. I’m enjoying it and having fun.”
HRC’s Laia Sanz (here enjoying a chat with JCR Honda’s Johnny Campbell at the Calama bivouac) continues to advance in overall standings, moving up to eighth today after another strong stage finish. Photography by HRC.
Tomorrow riders leave Calama for Salta, and head into the second marathon stage of the Dakar Rally. Riders will once again ascend into the Andes Mountains, nearing altitudes of 12,000 feet in the special, as they trek back into Argentina. Tomorrow’s liaison section will take them even higher, into altitudes over 16,000 feet as they follow the famous Abra del Acay – considered the world’s highest road pass on a domestic route.
Dakar Motorcycle Results – Stage 9
1. Helder Rodrigues (Hon)
2. Paulo Goncalves (Hon)
3. Marc Coma (KTM)
4. Joan Barreda (Hon)
5. Javier Pizzolito (Hon)
6. Stefan Svitko (KTM)
7. Matthias Walkner (KTM)
8. Toby Price (KTM)
9. Pablo Quintanilla (KTM)
10. Oliver Pain (Yam)
Provisional Standings After Stage 9
1. Marc Coma (34:05:00)
2. Paulo Goncalves (+5:28)
3. Pablo Quintanilla (+26:52)
4. Toby Price (+31:31)
5. Stefan Svitko (+40:36)
6. Ruben Faria (+1:01:22)
7. David Casteu (+1:31:26)
8. Laia Sanz (+1:54:37)
9. Ivan Jakes (+2:18:31)
10. Oliver Pain (+2:36:13)
