Photo: dakar.com
Sam Sunderland claimed victory in the debut stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally. Sunderland is one of KTM’s new hopes as the 25-year-old rider is the wingman of Dakar star Marc Coma. The British rider has raced in the Dakar Rally previously as a member of the HRC factory team, but technical problems and injuries have nulled his shots at glory with Honda machinery.
A full member of the Red Bull KTM Factory team now, he managed to steal the win from Honda rival Paulo Goncalves by a minuscule 5-second margin, and was 1’12” faster than his KTM team mate Coma. The top five positions were rounded up with Barreda Bort and Alain Duclos for Honda and Sherco TVS, respectively.
Surprisingly, Yamaha’s best rider, Olivier Pain was only 13th, and factory rider Michael Metge 6 positions down. Other big names in the bike category finished Stage 1 as follows: David Casteu 7th, Ruben Faria 10th, Helder Rodrigues 12th, Jordi Villadoms 13th, Pedrero Garcia 15th, and Alessandro Botturi 25th.
Stage 1 linked the capital Buenos Aires and Villa Carlos Paz, with the next round reaching San Juan, with a hefty 518 km (322 miles) section of special stage for the bikes and quads. If you are wondering about Cyril Despres’ performance in his first year as a driver, he and his Peugeot have been the 33rd to cross the Stage 1 finish line.
Stage 1 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (Buenos... by Dakar
It’s a good start, but this is only the beginning
Despite his young age, Sunderland seems to have learned the lesson in rally-raid races, as he is reserved and knows that an early stage victory is nothing more than one more accolade to his name, but has only a minute importance in the big picture. With many stages and thousands of miles still to be overcome in the barren scenery of South America, strategy plays a very important role, and might make a huge difference in the final result.Surprisingly, Yamaha’s best rider, Olivier Pain was only 13th, and factory rider Michael Metge 6 positions down. Other big names in the bike category finished Stage 1 as follows: David Casteu 7th, Ruben Faria 10th, Helder Rodrigues 12th, Jordi Villadoms 13th, Pedrero Garcia 15th, and Alessandro Botturi 25th.
Stage 1 linked the capital Buenos Aires and Villa Carlos Paz, with the next round reaching San Juan, with a hefty 518 km (322 miles) section of special stage for the bikes and quads. If you are wondering about Cyril Despres’ performance in his first year as a driver, he and his Peugeot have been the 33rd to cross the Stage 1 finish line.
Stage 1 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (Buenos... by Dakar
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