DAKAR STAGE 3
The third stage of the Dakar Rally proved to be another sand and dune-filled affair. The route consisted of a 296-kilometre special stage plus some 208 kilometres of liaison sections before reaching the bivouac located at San Juan de Marcona. Once again held in the Ica area, riders had to tackle fast offroad sections, some barely visible track and an abundance of navigation and dunes. The bivouac will remain camped at the same location for the two next days.
Red Bull KTM rider Sam Sunderland regained the overall lead by winning the stage decisively over Kevin Benavides. Joan Barreda lost the overall lead after a navigation mistake. After setting out first and opening the track, by the time the day was done the Spanish rider had finished the special in thirtieth place. Joan conceded twenty-seven minutes after taken a mistaken path that led him ever further from the scheduled route. With Rockstar Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla in third overall, there are three different teams and different makes in the top three.
Barreda’s teammate Ricky Brabec had a good day, finishing fourth on the stage and moving up into fourth overall. “It was a good stage, with very complicated navigation; difficult too, because there were a lot of ruts marked out from yesterday. I think that I didn’t make too many mistakes, or at least I haven’t paid too dearly for them. I am quite happy to finish this difficult whole stage and am pretty satisfied with the position on the day and in the overall race.”
Andrew Short and Shane Esposito finished back to back in 25th and 26th. Short’s overall position sits at 23rd, whereas Espo’s overall is further back in 73rd because of a missed waypoint on day one. Mark Samuels suffered a one-hour penalty today, which moved his overall position back to 69th.
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland Sam | 1 | GBR | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 3:20’43 |
| 2 | Benavides Kevin | 47 | ARG | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +03’03 |
| 3 | Price Toby | 8 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +03’28 |
| 4 | Brabec Ricky | 20 | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +03’55 |
| 5 | Quintanilla Pablo | 10 | CHI | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | Husqvarna | +04’20 |
| 6 | Farres Gerard | 3 | SPA | Himoinsa Team | KTM | +05’08 |
| 7 | Svitko Stefan | 9 | SLO | Slovnaft Team | KTM | +06’03 |
| 8 | Meo Antoine | 19 | FRA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +06’23 |
| 9 | Cornejo José Ignacio | 68 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +07’06 |
| 10 | Nosiglia Walter | 55 | BOL | HT Husqvarna Rally Team | Husqvarna | +08’27 |
| 11 | Metge Michael | 14 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +09’03 |
| 12 | Walkner Matthias | 2 | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +09’04 |
| 13 | Mena Oriol | 61 | SPA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | +09’25 |
| 14 | Caimi Franco | 7 | ARG | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | Yamaha | +10’56 |
| 15 | de Soultrait Xavier | 23 | FRA | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | Yamaha | +11’52 |
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
| 1 | Sunderland Sam | 1 | GBR | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 06:44’23 |
| 2 | Benavides Kevin | 47 | ARG | Monster Energy Honda Team | +04’38 |
| 3 | Quintanilla Pablo | 10 | CHI | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | +05’00 |
| 4 | Price Toby | 8 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +07’28 |
| 5 | Brabec Ricky | 20 | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | +08’00 |
| 6 | Walkner Matthias | 2 | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +08’50 |
| 7 | Van Beveren Adrien | 4 | FRA | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | +10’37 |
| 8 | Meo Antoine | 19 | FRA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +10’54 |
| 9 | Metge Michael | 14 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | +11’32 |
| 10 | Caimi Franco | 7 | ARG | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | +13’02 |
| 13 | Cornejo José Ignacio | 68 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | +13’58 |
| 15 | Barreda Joan | 5 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda Team | +22’45 |
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