Coma Steps Up, Barreda Still Leads Dakar Rally

Jean Turner | January 8, 2015
Marc Coma Stage 5 Dakar Rally Red Bull KTM

Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma (pictured) took an important step forward today, but still has yet to overtake Joan Barreda for the overall lead. Photography by RallyZone Bauer/Barni.

Riders faced another long and arduous phase of the Dakar Rally today in Chile, as they were faced with 434 miles of rocky, silty terrain on Stage 5. Marc Coma put a dent in Joan Barreda’s lead, as the Red Bull KTM rider conquered the torturous fesh-fesh (silt) of Chile to finish ahead of his HRC rival.

“Today was a very tough stage,” Coma said. “There was fesh-fesh all the time and in the fesh-fesh you cannot see the stones and it is not comfortable to ride. You are always having to pay attention. After 30km I was at the front and opening the stage again. I tried to lead at a good pace and not take too many risks, because today was very tricky. At the end, I’m happy how the way was.”

Barreda, however, is not concerned about his Stage 5 defeat, and remains optimistic about his overall position in the Rally.

“I feel happy after a really tough day,” Barreda said. “It’s good. We had another great result. I finished with Marc. Overall I’m happy. I’ll try to keep focused with the navigation and with the riding, also. I suppose that now, with more experience, I know that when Marc is pushing, he’s pushing all day. He goes really fast so it’s impossible to get in front, so it’s easier to just try and keep up with Marc.”

HRC Honda Joan Barreda Stage 5 Dakar Rally

Honda’s HRC rider Joan Barreda is still in control with a lead of over 10 minutes after five stages in the Dakar Rally. Photography courtesy of HRC.

The advantage remains in the HRC rider’s court, as Barreda still retains a lead of over 10 minutes. But as Coma points out, there is still a lot of racing left to go, as riders have not even reached the halfway point yet. “It’s going to be very difficult to take time from Joan, but you know, we have a lot of racing in front of us,” Coma commented. “There’s the second part of the rally and we’ll have two marathon stages. We will try like hell until the last day. We know that Joan is very fast and that he has a very high level, but we will try, for sure.”

Native Chilean Pablo Quintanilla continues to amaze with another third-place finish on the day. His impressive finish on Stage 5 has advanced him to fourth overall in the standings, behind Barreda’s HRC teammate, Paolo Goncalves.

Red Bull KTM’s Jordi Viladoms struggled with the day’s course, and unfortunately lost several minutes, but still retains fifth overall in the standings.

“It was not too good a stage for me today,” said Viladoms. “I got lost just after 30km. I took the wrong track because I was not concentrating. I lost six or eight minutes just at the start of the stage. So then the stage was really hard because I needed to overtake some other riders. Physically, my hands are destroyed. But anyway, we must look to the next stage. I’m happy about this week and how I’m riding and everything, so I’ll keep pushing until the end.”

Laia Sanz Stage 5 Dakar Rally HRC Honda

HRC’s Laia Sanz continues to impress with another solid top-20 finish in Stage 5. She now sits 17th overall in provisional standings. Photography courtesy of HRC.

Tomorrow riders leave Antofagasta and head further north through Chile toward Iquique. Motorcycles will travel across mountain ridges and through the dunes on the coastline, but will not be taking the famous descent. Rather, the halfway point of the race will be in the center of Iquique.

Following tomorrow’s 427-mile stage (229-mile liaison and 198-mile test), riders will receive a much needed rest day at what is considered the mid-point of the Dakar Rally.

Dakar Motorcycle Results – Stage 5

1. Marc Coma (KTM)
2. Joan Barreda (Hon)
3. Pablo Quintanilla (KTM)
4. Stefan Svitko (KTM)
5. Paolo Goncalves (Hon)
6. Helder Rodrigues (Hon)
7. Jeremias Israel (Hon)
8. Matthias Walkner (KTM)
9. Alain Duclos (Shr)
10. Toby Price (KTM)

Provisional Standings After Stage 5

1. Joan Barreda (17:51:05)
2. Marc Coma (+10:33)
3. Paolo Goncalves (+22:50)
4. Pablo Quintanilla (+31:06)
5. Jordi Viladoms (+36:23)
6. Ruben Faria (+38:13)
7. Matthias Walkner (+38:36)
8. Toby Price (+39:54)
9. Stefan Svitko (+42:05)
10. Helder Rodrigues (+43:24)

Dakar Rally Photos

Dakar Rally News

Jean Turner | Contributor

A former staffer at Cycle News, Turner continues to contribute to the website and magazine as a columnist and someone we can count on to whip up a few thousand words on an off-road race when needed.