DAKAR 2019: STAGE 3 CHAOS

Stage three of the Dakar rally turned the standings upside down. When it was all over, Yamaha’s Xavier DeSoultrait would win the stage and Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla would be at the top of the combined standings. Honda HRC rider Joan Barreda, who previously had been on top of the leader board, passed several riders and ended up in front of the field, only to find himself dealing with heavy fog, low visibility and difficult navigation. It ended in disaster when he got lost and went down a slope that was impossible to climb. It was the end of his Dakar effort. Other front runners had lesser difficulties, but most lost time. American HRC rider Ricky Brabec found himself opening the trail for everyone else in the fog. Brabec spent at least 15 minutes in one area looking for a waypoint. He would eventually finish 13th. Andrew Short suffered several crashes, but still managed a 12th on the day. Skyler Howes was 17th  and moves up to 21st in the standings.

Pablo Quintanilla: “The real Dakar has just started and I’m happy with where I’m at right now. Today we had a difficult stage. There was a lot of fog and in some parts you couldn’t see far ahead. If you tried to push, you ended up missing the right tracks. I took my time there and rode really carefully. At one crucial point in the mountains I made the right decision and gained some time to my rivals. Navigation today was really tricky. I’m having fun on my bike at the moment and I want to keep that same momentum going for the stages to come.”

Ricky Brabec: “The stage was tough. There was a lot of sand dunes and a lot of navigation. I ended up opening a lot of the stage. There was a lot of fog there. Joan went down a ravine or the wrong side of the mountain or something. I really had to go slow there. At kilometre 178 there was a really difficult waypoint which was not where it was shown in the roadbook. I spent fifteen minutes looking around for the way point and rode around for 30 kilometres. It was a bad day. We’ll have to make it up. But for me, in my mind, it’s going to be tough.”

Andrew Short: “It was a tough day for me but I’m still in the race and that’s what matters the most. I had two crashes in the opening part of the stage and that cost me some time. Conditions were tough, it was foggy and you could hardly see in front of your fender. I was lucky to escape those crashes unharmed and I went on to finish the stage. Today there were many direction changes and navigation was tricky. Together with most of the first riders, we got lost searching for a tricky waypoint and that cost us all some more time. The race is proving to be quite tough and I’m now focusing on the stages to come.”

Results Stage 3
1 DE SOULTRAIT Xavier 18 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team 04:07’42
2 QUINTANILLA Pablo 6 CHI Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +00’15
3 BENAVIDES Kevin 47 ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +02’37
4 VAN BEVEREN Adrien 4 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +06’42
5 SUNDERLAND Sam 14 GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +08’26
6 GONCALVES Paulo 2 POR Monster Energy Honda Team +09’31
7 SVITKO Stefan 11 SLO Slovnaft Team +10’50
8 MENA Oriol 7 SPA Hero Motorsports Team Rally +11’15
9 PRICE Toby 3 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +14’16
10 METGE Michael 16 FRA Sherco TVS Rally Factory +14’45
11 SANTOLINO Lorenzo SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory +14’59
12 SHORT Andrew 29 USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +15’10
13 BRABEC Ricky 15 USA Monster Energy Honda Team +20’01

 

PROVISIONAL STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 3
1 QUINTANILLA Pablo 6 CHI Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 08:34’28
2 BENAVIDES Kevin 47 ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +11’23
3 SUNDERLAND Sam 14 GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +12’12
4 VAN BEVEREN Adrien 4 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +13’29
5 PRICE Toby 3 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +15’17
6 DE SOULTRAIT Xavier 18 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +16’52
7 BRABEC Ricky 15 USA Monster Energy Honda Team +18’02
8 WALKNER Matthias 1 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +21’14
9 GONCALVES Paulo 2 POR Monster Energy Honda Team +25’11
10 SHORT Andrew 29 USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +29’15