Photo: Facebook | Dakar.com
Australian Toby Price claims another success with his back-to-back victory in Stage 6. Even though his win was not as authoritative as the previous one, the KTM rider showed what he's made of.
Though trailing Goncalves at Checkpoint 3 by more than 2 minutes, Price was able to pick up the pace to an extent that was impossible to match by the Honda machine. Price clawed by more than one minute from Goncalves, who was still in the lead by a frail 35 seconds.
Price's teammate Matthias Walkner also had an amazing day, riding efficiently to a runner-up finish in Stage 6, also being seven seconds faster than Goncalves.
The rest of the riders fell behind with larger gaps, such as Stefan Svitko, who was almost 5 minutes slower than his KTM colleague. Nice to see Yamaha back at the front of the leading pack, with Helder Rodrigues riding to a fifth position finish. Two Husqvarna machines followed, with Quintanilla and Txomin Arana.
Slovakian KTM rider Ivan Jakes also had to retire in the early kilometers of Stage 6. Thursday, he also came off his bike and injured a knee. He took the start in Stage 6 but his pain was overwhelming.
Stage 7 wasn't a good one for the bikes, and more names were crossed off the list. The biggest loss was for Honda, whose Barreda Bort had problems with his bike once more. It's for the second time in a row when Barreda's Honda lets him down.
The HRC rider was forced to quit because of mechanical problems that led to his abandon last year, almost to the same distance into the rally. He was towed to finish the Stage, but reached the finish line with a 5-hour delay and decided to call it quits.
The runner-up of Stage 6, Matthias Walkner also crashed hard and broke his femur. The first rider to reach him was Paulo Goncalves, who activated his emergency beacon and waited beside him until the helicopter arrived, and the ten minutes were deducted from his stage time.
Stage 7 was also shortened because of thunderstorms that swept the area, and the beneficiary of the whole thing was, in the end, KTM rookie Antoine Meo, who won a Dakar stage for the first time in his career.
Benavides trailed almost two minutes behind the Frenchman, with Goncalves third, followed by another Honda ridden by Metge and by Toby Price in fifth. Quintanilla and Arana's Huskies were behind Price, followed by Guell, Svitko and Brabec for the top ten.
Halfway through the 2016 Dakar Rally, Paulo Goncalves is still in the lead, with a 3'12" advantage over Toby Price. Stefan Svitko is also looking good in third, with a 9'24" gap. Husqvarna is doing well in the fourth position with Quintanilla 18 minutes adrift, and Benavides fairly close behind him.
The overall top ten also includes Meo, Rodrigues, Guell, Duclos and Pedrero Garcia. Stage 8 takes place today between Salta and Belen, with 373 km (232 miles) of liaison and 394 km (245 miles) of special stage. The Dakar competitors are entering the sand dunes section and navigation will play a more important role.
Price's teammate Matthias Walkner also had an amazing day, riding efficiently to a runner-up finish in Stage 6, also being seven seconds faster than Goncalves.
The rest of the riders fell behind with larger gaps, such as Stefan Svitko, who was almost 5 minutes slower than his KTM colleague. Nice to see Yamaha back at the front of the leading pack, with Helder Rodrigues riding to a fifth position finish. Two Husqvarna machines followed, with Quintanilla and Txomin Arana.
Stage 6 sees Jakes and Faria quit, Stage 7 claims more top riders
During Stage 6, Ruben Faria was involved in a crash which resulted in a broken wrist. Husqvarna thus loses one of their best and most experienced riders, leaving Pablo Quintanilla as the main man to try and rank as high as possible for the KTM-owner manufacturer.Slovakian KTM rider Ivan Jakes also had to retire in the early kilometers of Stage 6. Thursday, he also came off his bike and injured a knee. He took the start in Stage 6 but his pain was overwhelming.
Stage 7 wasn't a good one for the bikes, and more names were crossed off the list. The biggest loss was for Honda, whose Barreda Bort had problems with his bike once more. It's for the second time in a row when Barreda's Honda lets him down.
The HRC rider was forced to quit because of mechanical problems that led to his abandon last year, almost to the same distance into the rally. He was towed to finish the Stage, but reached the finish line with a 5-hour delay and decided to call it quits.
The runner-up of Stage 6, Matthias Walkner also crashed hard and broke his femur. The first rider to reach him was Paulo Goncalves, who activated his emergency beacon and waited beside him until the helicopter arrived, and the ten minutes were deducted from his stage time.
Stage 7 was also shortened because of thunderstorms that swept the area, and the beneficiary of the whole thing was, in the end, KTM rookie Antoine Meo, who won a Dakar stage for the first time in his career.
Benavides trailed almost two minutes behind the Frenchman, with Goncalves third, followed by another Honda ridden by Metge and by Toby Price in fifth. Quintanilla and Arana's Huskies were behind Price, followed by Guell, Svitko and Brabec for the top ten.
Halfway through the 2016 Dakar Rally, Paulo Goncalves is still in the lead, with a 3'12" advantage over Toby Price. Stefan Svitko is also looking good in third, with a 9'24" gap. Husqvarna is doing well in the fourth position with Quintanilla 18 minutes adrift, and Benavides fairly close behind him.
The overall top ten also includes Meo, Rodrigues, Guell, Duclos and Pedrero Garcia. Stage 8 takes place today between Salta and Belen, with 373 km (232 miles) of liaison and 394 km (245 miles) of special stage. The Dakar competitors are entering the sand dunes section and navigation will play a more important role.
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