Cornejo plus “Peter” take a step forward
Concentrate
These days was heaven for photographers yet hell for the riders and motorists! The seaside played host towards the start of the special looping around NEOM where this both started and finished. The particular contrast between the blue sea as well as the shores’ shades of brown has been striking from an aerial point of view. However , the competitors did not have got much time to admire the surroundings and, beneath their helmets, it had been the rocks in the middle of the exclusive or the jumble of tracks in its end that attracted the interest of the riders, drivers and co-pilots. In so doing, Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al Attiyah dropped valuable time, while the navigational difficulties performed into the hands of Nacho Cornejo , whose talents still come to the fore when technique is of paramount importance. All along the 465 kilometres from the special , the majestic scenery encouraged calm and the day’s those who win were those who grasped this belief.
Outlines
Some impresses are not entirely unexpected. Over the last couple of days, Nacho Cornejo has displayed his navigational skills, calmly invited himself in to the upper reaches of the general rankings, taken the lead and progressively opened up a gap on his pursuers, with the clear-headedness to slow down but additionally ride fast when it is required! The particular Chilean’s performance pressured Toby Price into getting too hasty and the Australian exited the rally after a heavy drop, meaning his team-mate Mike Sunderla nd is now the only real official KTM representative, in third place encircled by four Honda riders, which includes title holder Ricky Brabec , hot on his heels plus aiming to kick him off the podium to paint it entirely reddish. In the car category, the ability to consider his time also paid payouts for general standings leader Stéphane Peterhansel , who posted the day’s best time and more importantly avoided any kind of setbacks, whilst Nasser ‘s Attiyah and Carlos Sainz experienced punctures that took their goals of victory further out of their own grasp. Needing to close the distance on his French rival, the Qatari instead lost 12 additional a few minutes. Though the duel continues between Manuel Andújar and Alexandre Giroud in the quad race, the Argentinean still leads and obtained fifteen extra seconds today, on an unique dominated by Chilean Giovanni Enrico . Another Chilean, Chaleco López , hit a major blow and returned towards the top of the general standings by successful the stage in the lightweight automobile category. In the truck race, there was clearly a minor revolution, with a stage achievement for Czech driver Matn Macík . His victory 2’27’’ over Airat Mardeev has not affected the category’s boss, however , as Dmitry Sotnikov continues to prospect the general standings as he has done because the rally left Jeddah.
Performance of the day
This year, Chaleco López is getting involved in his tenth Dakar. With a move of honour as impressive since his, suffice to say that the Chilean is among the most skilled members of the field in the light-weight vehicle class . Thanks to a win upon each of the marathon stages, López got already regained new impetus within the fight for the title. However , can have easily lost all wish on the sixth special during which he or she lost almost one hour due to a mechanised problem. Nevertheless, behind the wheel of his Can-Am , he offered his utmost to score three consecutive stage victories. Taking advantage of Seth Quintero ’s mechanical mishap and a below-par efficiency from Austin Jones today, López returned in order to his place at the top of the general rankings with Jones as his closest pursuer, more than 12 minutes at the rear of. With three days left till the finish in Jeddah, “Chaleco” includes a great opportunity to take the title… when he continues in this vein.
Crushing blow
Toby Cost was looking properly set to battle for victory this season with two stage successes currently in the bag. The Australian, who had been in second place in the general rankings at the start of the day, set off at a super pace over the first portion of the particular special. Trailing the leader by 24’’ after 121 km, he then crashed around the 155 kilometres point . Their team-mate Sam Sunderland and title holder Ough Brabec stopped in the future to his aid as he anticipated the medical team and then Cost was airlifted to hospital in Tabuk in which he was diagnosed with a fractured dog collar bone. As a result, the two times champion of the Dakar was force in order to exit the race prematurely. Just before today, it had only occurred to him once in his 6 previous participations in the rally. Aside from these withdrawals, Price has often finished on the final podium, therefore today sees one of the leading pretenders to the crown bid goodbye for this year’s adventure.
Stat of the day: 64
Represented at the top of the particular standings in two categories from five on the Dakar, Chile had taken pride of place today thank you to Chaleco López and Giovanni Enrico , who both won the particular special in the lightweight vehicle plus quad categories respectively. With Chaleco López and Nacho Cornejo , 2 Chileans occupy first place in the common standings, in the lightweight vehicle plus bike categories respectively. Thanks to their own wins on stage nine, López and Enrico have improved their country’s number of phase victories to 64 on the Dakar . The only fly in the ointment was the thirteenth best time achieved by Ignacio Casale , title holder within the quad category, who nonetheless is usually enjoying an honourable debut within the truck race, with finishes within the top 10 on seven stages from nine to date.
Classic freeze-frame
The Volkswagen Iltis driven by Spaniard Ignacio Corcuera dates through 1980 and has been faithfully refurbished in keeping with the characteristics of the vehicle that will won the car category that yr, with Freddy Kotulinsky behind the wheel. In the race just for consistency taking place this year, he is presently 21 st in the Dakar Traditional standings, which continue to be dominated by Marc Douton in a Sunhill Buggy .
Quote of the day
Stéphane Peterhansel: “A genuine Dakar stage, a little bit like in yesteryear in Africa”
Thanks to his composure, the overall standings leader won the phase enabling him to open up the gap at the summit of the move: he now leads Nasser Al-Attiyah by 17’50’’.
“For certain this stage was a really complex one. From the beginning we saw which the day would be long, so we made a decision to not be on full attack yet more to manage the tyres and become clean with the navigation. At the end we all overtook Carlos and also Nasser. All of us overtook him two times because he a new puncture. It was a real Dakar phase, a little bit like in the past in The african continent, where it was not only a question associated with speed but it was also a question associated with strategy, just to adapt the speed towards the condition of the tracks. For sure, usually in such conditions I was always not too bad, so it’s still great for me”.
