DAKAR STAGE 9 RESULTS

The Dakar Rally was back to business today with a long stage consisting of well over 500 miles between liaison and special. Overall leader Ricky Brabec started fifth in the special, and was fastest through the first 100 kilometers, but before long it was apparent that Rockstar Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla, who is second in the overall classification, had decided it was time to start chipping away at Brabec’s 24-minute advantage. By the time he reached the conclusion of the special, Quintanilla had logged the fastest time, and cut Brabec’s lead down by almost 4 minutes. Toby Price and Joan Barreda were second and third ahead of Brabec, and those are the two other riders closest to the lead in the general classification. There are now three stages left, including tomorrow’s marathon, where the riders are allowed no outside assistance. At this point in the race, Brabec is concentrating on managing his race–he’s been here before, leading the overall classification  in the closing stages and seen it all come tumbling down.

For Quintanilla, it’s not enough to pull back a minute here or there. He has to be fast and flawless, and he will be opening the  route tomorrow.

Ricky Brabec: “Long day and early morning, but glad to be at the finish of the day. Fast few stages lately so let’s see what tomorrow has to offer, it’s also our last marathon night so we must make the bike go for two days with no assistance.”

STAGE 9 RESULTS

1 5 PABLO QUINTANILLA ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING 03H 30′ 33”
2 1 TOBY PRICE RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM 03H 32′ 27” + 00H 01′ 54”
3 12 JOAN BARREDA BORT MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020 03H 33′ 15” + 00H 02′ 42”
4 9 RICKY BRABEC MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020 03H 34′ 28” + 00H 03′ 55”
5 18 ROSS BRANCH BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM 03H 36′ 03” + 00H 05′ 30”
6 7 KEVIN BENAVIDES MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020 03H 36′ 23” + 00H 05′ 50”
7 16 LUCIANO BENAVIDES RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM 03H 36′ 41” + 00H 06′ 08”
8 17 JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020 03H 36′ 56” + 00H 06′ 23”
9 6 ANDREW SHORT ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING 03H 37′ 30” + 00H 06′ 57”
10 2  MATTHIAS WALKNER RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM 03H 38′ 40” + 00H 08′ 07”

OVERALL RANKING