The arena has been a trap for the pilots
keep passing the days in the Rally Dakar 2016 and today, the riders have faced the stage 9, which is considered the toughest rally in the world. This stage today has been a special, because although the route of the special stage has been the same, with 285 miles, is a marathon stage for bikes and quads. The cars have made departure and arrival in Bethlehem while the bikes they had prepared the camp of the second marathon stage in Fiambalá. As in the previous stage, the vehicles will remain in the closed park, so you take care of the mechanics has been indispensable.
today has been a stage particularly hard by the high temperatures, a lot of browsing, vegetation, land very broken and above all, the sand of the dunes. Due to the strong heat, the organization has decided to neutralize the last stretch in particular, a decision with which some of the early pilots are not all in agreement because they also have competed in that area.
Paulo Gonçalves lost their options
The Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves was the only chance of winning the Dakar in motorcycles to Honda after the abandonment of Barreda. Lose all options after suffering a breakdown on the bike and having to be towed, though still in competition. Toby Price remains stable, winning stages and first place overall. Kevin Benavides and Stefan Svitko are in the range of 10 minutes. Gerard Farrés in eighth position has been the best Spanish.
The Patronelli mark distances in general and the Dakar is already clear that it will be for one of the two brothers unless the situation is twist a lot. Today, however, the stage has earned Paul Copetti, followed by the two brother. The first three positions of the stage 9 have been for the argentinian pilots.
Especially the drivers of cars have had many problems in the sand, staying stuck in many cases and also with repeated punctures due to the strong vegetation of some areas. Carlos Sainz has taken the stage, followed by the MINI of Erik Van Loon and Mikko Hirvonen. De Villiers, Al-Attiyah, Despres and Peterhansel occupy the following positions in the classification stage. Nani Roma has been 12th and Loeb 23rd. In general, among the first, everything is possible, there is still a large mattresses, of time.
Gerard de Rooy is still winning stages and stands out from the pack in the category of trucks. Van Genugten and Karginov have today been second and third, but in general the Dutch takes 27 minutes to the Kamaz of Nikolaev and more than 40 minutes to the North of Villagra.
Classification Stage 9
Bikes:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Price | Australia | KTM | 02:24:19 |
| 2nd | Kevin Benavides | Argentina | Honda | +00:07:10 |
| 3rd | Stefan Svitko | Slovakia | KTM | +00:10:33 |
Quads:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Copetti | Argentina | Yamaha | 03:38:40 |
| 2nd | Alejandro Patronelli | Argentina | Yamaha | +00:00:35 |
| 3rd | Marcos Patronelli | Argentina | Yamaha | +00:01:28 |
Cars:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Peugeot | 02:35:31 |
| 2nd | Erik Van Loon | the Netherlands | MINI | +00:00:10 |
| 3rd | Mikko Hirvonen | Finland | MINI | +00:00:17 |
Truck:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerard de Rooy | the Netherlands | Iveco | 02:41:20 |
| 2nd | Ton Van Genugten | the Netherlands | Iveco | +00:03:59 |
| 3rd | Andrey Karginov | Russia | Kamaz | +00:16:04 |
Overall Rating
Bikes:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toby Price | Australia | KTM | 29:53:15 |
| 2nd | Stefan Svitko | Slovakia | KTM | +00:24:47 |
| 3rd | Pablo Quintanilla | Chile | Husqvarna | +00:32:14 |
Quads:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcos Patronelli | Argentina | Yamaha | 36:27:33 |
| 2nd | Alejandro Patronelli | Argentina | Yamaha | +00:01:13 |
| 3rd | Alexis Hernandez | Peru | Yamaha | +00:40:09 |
Cars:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Peugeot | 28:39:24 |
| 2nd | Stéphane Peterhansel | France | Peugeot | +00:07:03 |
| 3rd | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Qatar | MINI | +00:14:38 |
Truck:
| Position | Pilot | Country | Brand | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerard de Rooy | the Netherlands | Iveco | 28:30:46 |
| 2nd | Eduard Nikolaev | Russia | Kamaz | +00:27:12 |
| 3rd | Federico Villagra | Argentina | Iveco | +00:41:24 |