HRC’s Joan Barreda impressed with a dominant win at Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally. Photography courtesy of HRC
The dust is still settling on day 2 at the 2015 Dakar Rally, where riders took on the longest timed special of the rally. At the end of the 322-mile (518km) test, Honda riders Joan Barreda and his HRC teammate Paolo Goncalves sit 1-2 in the standings, putting the red riders in control after the first major stage of the Rally.
Barreda battled throughout the challenging course with Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma and Stage 1 winner Sam Sunderland, but Barreda pulled the advantage when Coma was forced to slow his pace due to tire troubles, and Sunderland got hopelessly lost.
“I am really happy,” Barreda said. “It was really hard, really tough in the last part of the special with a lot of tracks and bumps. It was so physical. But today was one of those days where it is important to get the finish, and we got here so we are really happy. I was alone in some parts, but the most important was to remain calm over the first kilometers and finally we did a really good job. I think it’s a good opportunity for victory but the race is really close, so if we can perform like today and gain some minutes, then it’s very important.”
Goncalves moved into second, finishing six minutes behind Barreda, and thrilled to see his young teammate take the lead.
“Today was a really, really long and hard stage,” Goncalves said. “There was some really difficult tracks, a lot of rocks and sand; with this temperature it was really hard. In the middle of the stage I lost a little bit of time trying to find a waypoint. For the last 200km (125 miles) I was on my own, but I’m happy to be here, happy for HRC and especially for Joan. He rode a really, really smart race today. He just started pushing after 350km (217 miles), so congratulations to Joan. I thought we were brave today because it was a really difficult day.”
KTM’s Ruben Faria came in third three minutes later, only four seconds ahead of his KTM teammate, Jordi Viladoms. Australian Toby Price impressed with a strong fifth-place finish on the long and challenging special.
Coma finished eighth, coming in 12:32 behind the leader, and now sitting sixth in the standings. But the seasoned veteran rode a very smart stage and considers himself lucky considering what could have happened.
“We know that today was a very tough day,” Coma said. “We started in the morning with a good feeling, not pushing too hard because we knew it was a long day. But on the other side, I felt that 60km from the end, my rear tire was finished and I started to ride no faster than 60kph (37 mph), no faster than that. Okay, we lost some time today, but at the end I’m lucky because I could have stayed stuck in the desert all day.”
The Dakar Rally continues tomorrow, as riders depart from San Juan, and continue their journey west across Argentina to Chilecito. Riders will face a 437km (271 miles) liaison and a 220km (137 miles) special.
Dakar Rally – Motorcycle Results
1. Joan Barreda (Hon)
2. Paolo Goncalves (Hon)
3. Ruben Faria (KTM)
4. Jordi Viladoms (KTM)
5. Toby Price (KTM)
6. Matthias Walkner (KTM)
7. Helder Rodrigues (Hon)
8. Marc Coma (KTM)
9. Jeremias Israel (Hon)
10. Juan Pedrero (Yam)
Provisional Standings After Stage 2
1. Joan Barreda (7:06:44)
2. Paolo Goncalves (+04:37)
3. Ruben Faria (+10:37)
4. Jordi Viladoms (+11:24)
5. Toby Price (+11:32)
6. Marc Coma (+12:03)
7. Matthias Walkner (+12:26)
8. Helder Rodrigues (+13:26)
9. Jeremias Israel (+16:24)
10. Juan Pedrero (+19:34)
