Photo: dakar.com
As anticipated, Stage 11 was also shortened, with the finish line of the special stage being moved at the second checkpoint. With the temperatures already reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) at 10 am, seeing so many competitors suffering severely from heat exhaustion was no surprise for the race organizers.
Bad luck struck for Honda, whose top rider Paulo Goncalves has been struggling with various problems in the last stages. After a high-speed crash, a punctured radiator and more penalties, the Portuguese rider unfortunately took another fall during Stage 11.
This time, Goncalves was not that lucky, as he lost his consciousness briefly. He was picked up by an ambulance and rushed to the hospital for investigations. Honda's hopes now lie with Benavides and US rider Rick Brabec, now fifth and eighth overall, respectively.
Toby Price charged ahead in Stage 11, but was careful not to stress his bike unnecessarily in the searing heat. His main concern was to get away from his rival Svitko, and he therefore was less preoccupied to fend Antoine Meo off. Price got even closer to his first Dakar crown and KTM's 15th title, with a 35-minute lead two stages ahead of the finish.
Rodrigues and Van Beveren rounded up the top ten, with Benavides, Svitko, Blythe, Viladoms and Guell trailing. Gyenes finished Stage 11 in the 22nd position, while Laia Sanz was one place ahead of him. In the overall rankings, the Romanian is 14th, some 4 minutes behind Husky's Cerruti, and Sanz is 16th.
The penultimate Stage takes the Dakar riders from San Juan back to Villa Carlos Paz. This is the longest stage, with 450 km (280 miles) of liaison and 481 km (299 miles) of special stage, most likely to be also shortened if the weather doesn't cool down a bit.
This time, Goncalves was not that lucky, as he lost his consciousness briefly. He was picked up by an ambulance and rushed to the hospital for investigations. Honda's hopes now lie with Benavides and US rider Rick Brabec, now fifth and eighth overall, respectively.
Toby Price charged ahead in Stage 11, but was careful not to stress his bike unnecessarily in the searing heat. His main concern was to get away from his rival Svitko, and he therefore was less preoccupied to fend Antoine Meo off. Price got even closer to his first Dakar crown and KTM's 15th title, with a 35-minute lead two stages ahead of the finish.
Quintanilla's brake problems allowed Meo to claim the stage
Meo received an unexpected boon as Pablo Quintanilla ran into some troubles and darted ahead to claim the second stage win in his maiden Dakar. The Frenchman was only 18 seconds faster than Price, and he also added a little time between him and Husqvarna's Chilean rider.Rodrigues and Van Beveren rounded up the top ten, with Benavides, Svitko, Blythe, Viladoms and Guell trailing. Gyenes finished Stage 11 in the 22nd position, while Laia Sanz was one place ahead of him. In the overall rankings, the Romanian is 14th, some 4 minutes behind Husky's Cerruti, and Sanz is 16th.
The penultimate Stage takes the Dakar riders from San Juan back to Villa Carlos Paz. This is the longest stage, with 450 km (280 miles) of liaison and 481 km (299 miles) of special stage, most likely to be also shortened if the weather doesn't cool down a bit.
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