An hour before the end of the motorcycle special, the motorcycle special stopped “for safety reasons”, as announced by ASO at the Dakar bivouac in Riyadh, due to the lack of helicopters to cover the entire route, and therefore, for not being able to guarantee the safety of all competitors. The reason could be a sandstorm, which prevented the flight of some helicopters, and that affected the stage. Also, it didn’t help that there were two loops in Riyadh today, one for cars and one for motorcycles, with much more territory to cover. For these reasons, once about thirty pilots had already arrived, the Dakar announced that the classification could change, as the stewards will have to decide where the stage ends and what is the best system so as not to harm anyone in the general classification.
Before the final resolution is known, Toby Price had won the stage.
Toby Price, winner of Dakar In 2016 and 2019, this Thursday he achieved his first stage victory in this edition of the toughest test in the world on the back of his KTM. The Australian rider made a big difference in a difficult navigation stage, making good his delayed starting position after finishing 16th on Wednesday’s stage. Price was among the best all the time and took the lead at the last checkpoint prior to the finish, thanks to a final navigation error of Sanders.
Sanders (GasGas) had led the whole day with an iron fist, wanting to recover the 7’07 ”minutes that separated him from the leadership of his teammate Sunderland. It was a perfect day for him to attack and take the lead, but a possible technical glitch in the validation of a Way point hidden in the GPS from his motorcycle he was able to snatch the stage from him. That possible failure finally made him lose 13’11 ”.
Apparently, several pilots complained about a hidden Way Point (WPC) next to a river at kilometer 280, including Sanders. I also commented on it Santolino, who gave 17’16 “to the winner of the stage, Price:” Near kilometer 200 Luciano Benavides has come from behind, and there we pulled together “, explained Lorenzo. “He has taken over and practically before entering the dunes at kilometer 280 there was a river with a WPC, we were going in parallel, about 5 meters, and He has already started to give gas, and I have not understood it very well because the Way Point had not been validated and I understood that I had not validated it. I have turned. I have validated it again and I have lost the visual reference a bit “, added the man from Salamanca about the point that ruined Sanders’ day.
Price He was ahead of the Italian pilot Danilo petrucci. The ex of MotoGP continues to have the most fun riding his KTM on his debut on this Dakar. In stage 4, Danilo lost the third position due to a penalty for exceeding the speed allowed at the entrance to a town. Upon arrival at the bivouac, not even that could take away his smile. Was falling in love with Dakar and he said that he did not care that they had taken that place away, that he had “had fun like crazy.” And a day later, he again exhibited his surprising speed on a complicated sailing stage, finishing second at 4’14 ”.
Barreda loses 8 minutes
Joan Barreda had the hot potato in her hands. It burned a lot. His second victory in this edition, achieved yesterday, forced him to start first on a day of great sailing stress, with many tracks that did not differ and many others that separated. Under those circumstances, without traces in front or any reference, it was almost impossible not to waste time. I had it assumed. But what he wanted was to minimize his losses with the Sunderland leader.
Joan is playing with everything: winning one day to open the next. Buy time one day and try to compromise less in the later stage. Everything, to continue cutting. This game allowed him to cut from 41 minutes of stage 1 to the 14 that he had behind with the leader before today’s stage. In the Previous day, with his victory he scratched Sunderland 9 minutes, but today he lost 8. Thus, in two days he only managed to take a minute from him despite the many risks taken.
Now, The Torreblanca rider falls from seventh position in the general standings to tenth, 22 ”58 behind the leader.
Santolino remains fifth overall
Lawrence Santolino he remains in fifth position overall with a 15’27 ”deficit compared to the leader, just over 9 minutes from the podium position, a place that he already told MD before this Dakar that it would be a dream for him. The Guijuelo pilot highlighted the difficulty of navigation on this day, in which he was harmed because the WPC from kilometer 280. For this reason, he had to return thinking that he had not passed through that checkpoint, losing more minutes than the pilot with whom he was filming, Luciano Benavides, and thus losing his visual reference for the dunes that were to come.
“We have entered the dunes and on this terrain it is a bit more difficult for me to keep a high pace. I have tried to keep the best possible rhythm without taking excessive risks. I am happy with the stage. From what came out we have not wasted too much time, which was the important thing today “, said the man from Salamanca, who still has to try to improve his rhythm in the dunes since he was harmed by the closing of Moroccan borders in November, which prevented him from carrying out an extensive test in its deserts in order to improve his sensations in the dunes. with his new Sherco.
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