Toby Price (KTM) once again took a commanding win in Stage 9 of the Dakar rally, his fifth so far, but called the victory “frustrating,” and some other KTM riders echoed his feelings.
The reason for the frustration: While the day’s riding promised more “classic Dakar” action, involving sand, difficult navigation, and the like, the stage ended up being shortened once again. First, organizers said they were calling the race at CP2, then they said CP1. Supposedly, rising heat put competitors in enough danger that organizers felt they would be unable to keep them safe, due to lack of rescue equipment, so the day’s 285-km special section ended prematurely.
By the time they’d called off the racing, several racers were well past CP2, including Price.
While some riders were likely pleased (despite promises otherwise, the attrition rate among the backmarkers is still relatively low), KTM’s stars were unhappy. Toby Price had built up a huge lead on all the competition, and saw it all evaporate, and several other top riders saw themselves in similar positions, losing the time they’d built up over the competition.
“Before, I was 13th 13 minutes from top 10 according to the results of CP2 (where they stopped us). Now I’m 14th, 50 minutes from top 10. I don’t agree,” Laia Sanz (KTM) said on Facebook. David Casteau (KTM) echoed her comments on his page:
“I started at a good pace, I was really good. It was a day for us rally drivers … and at km 178, they stopped the race! Since the start of the Dakar, we experience a type of race type ” baja ” thoroughly on fast tracks. Nothing was said, we understand. But there, at the first special typed ” rally ” is stopped for safety! Getting ready for the Dakar for a year and, whenever there is any problem, we stop everything! I am disgusted ! Too many safety kills the race. “
The translation is a little rough, but what he’s saying what a lot of people are thinking — that Dakar has gotten too easy. With two spectators dead already, though, it’s no wonder organizers are exercising so much caution.
One rider in particular benefited greatly from the shortened stage. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) managed to put a hole in his radiator between CP1 and CP2, and was supposedly experiencing engine failure. He was towed into CP2 by faithful Honda water carrier Paulo Ceci, and was expecting to see a massive loss in time against Toby Price.
With the stage shortened to CP1, Goncalves got almost all that time back, which theoretically keeps him in the race. As yesterday was the start of the second marathon stage, it’s unclear exactly how Honda plans to keep him in the game, but they surely want to.
If Goncalves can get away with a simple top end refresh, he will avoid any time penalties. If he needs to swap an engine with another Honda rider, then both riders get a 15-minute penalty, which would likely rule them out of a podium finish.
However, since it was a marathon stage, mechanical assistance is not allowed, meaning the riders themselves must perform the repairs (in the earlier marathon stage, no mechanical repairs were allowed at all). While some riders have done engine swaps under these circumstances (and acquiring legendary status while doing so), the conditions are hardly ideal.
Dakar Stage 9 results
- Price (KTM) 03:26:58
- Brabec (Honda) 03:39:27 (+00:12:29)
- Meo (KTM) 03:40:22 (+00:13:24)
- Svitko (KTM) 03:41:43 (+00:14:45)
- Van Beveren (Yamaha) 03:42:52 (+00:15:54)
- Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 03:44:13 (+00:17:15)
- Rodrigues (Yamaha) 03:46:10 (+00:19:12)
- Monleon (KTM) 03:48:33 (+00:21:35)
- Benavides (Honda) 03:49:06 (+00:22:08)
Overall standings
- Price (KTM) 30:55:54
- Svitko (KTM) 31:24:53 (+00:28:59) (00:01:00 penalty)
- Goncalves (Honda) 31:29:55 (+00:34:01)
- Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 31:34:35 (+00:38:41)
- Meo (KTM) 31:38:02 (+00:42:08)
- Rodrigues (Yamaha) 31:45:57 (+00:50:03) (00:02:00 penalty)
- Farres (KTM) 31:50:04 (+00:54:10)
- Brabec (Honda) 32:00:02 (+01:04:08)
- Van Beveren (Yamaha) 32:05:35 (+01:09:41)
