Photo: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool
Here’s your official video update for Stage Five of the Dakar rally, along with a few updates from overnight.
Stage Six runs today, with racers riding 688 total kms from Antofagasta to Iquique. The riders have already left, and KTM’s Pablo Quintanilla seems to be in trouble; he’s said to have a leaky gas tank, which could be quite dangerous for the Chilean ace, who was starting to put up impressive results on his home turf.
Tests apparently show Polish Michael Hernik, who died in Stage Three, was killed by a combination of heat stroke and dehydration. Hernik was discovered 300 metres off the track after he didn’t show up at a waypoint. There were no visible signs of a collision on his body.
Former motorcycle racer Johnny Campbell finally had a decent stage, as Robby Gordon’s navigator. Campbell and Gordon were third in the car section in Stage Five, their first decent result after a second-place in Stage One and subsequent days of bad luck. Aldo Racing, the Canadian car team with former bike racer Patrick Beaule as co-pilot, finished 35th in Stage Five.
By the start of Stage 5, 40 riders had withdrawn from competition, although we didn’t see any of the rally’s stars drop out yesterday.
