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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
 
SHAPING UP FOR A NAIL BITING FINISH… In the bikes victory on the stage went to Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda) ahead of Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero Motorsports) at 02’56 with Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco Factory) third at 04’35. Overall Barreda leads Santolino by 02’52 with Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda) third at 10’40. In the cars Nasser Al-Attiyah (Nasser Racing) wins another stage, this time 1’48 in front of Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive SA) but more importantly for Nasser 03’17 ahead of third placed man Carlos Sainz (Mini John Cooper Works). Overall Al-Attiyah leads 04’43 ahead of Sainz with Al-Rajhi third at 09’37. In T3 Guillaume de Mevius (Red Bull Off Road Junior Team) once again won the special ahead of teammates Mitchell Guthrie and Cristina Gutierrez and increases his lead over Gutierrez to 11’02 with Guthrie a further 07’06 behind her. In T4 Austin Jones (Monster Energy Can-Am) wins ahead of teammate Aron Domzala with Khalifa Al-Attiyah (South Racing) third. Overall Jones takes the lead just 01’31 in front of K. Al-Attiyah with Kees Koolen (South Racing) third, more than 16 minutes back. BIKES What is sure is that Joan Barreda is very much on form. And if he wasn’t carry a four minute speeding penalty he’d be much better installed in the overall lead. Commenting on today’s stage it is clear he doesn’t underestimate the challenge tomorrow presents or plan to back off. “I think I rode a good stage. I liked it a little bit more today because it was more open and faster and I feel better with that than riding enduro in the mountains. We will have to fight until the last kilometres for the victory. There is still a lot to do tomorrow and this is a difficult rally.” But Lorenzo Santolino is also on fire. He’s opened successfully two days on the trot and so is clearly feeling comfortable with the navigation. And he is equally in harmony with his motorcycle. “I am feeling really good with the bike, improving race by race. Barreda was really fast today but opening is always a bit difficult - you always lose a bit of time - so starting behind him tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad.” The third man overall isn’t perhaps as comfortable on the Spanish tracks as he is in the desert he grew up in but Pablo Quintanilla is getting the hang of it, as he is getting the hang of his new bike. “I think I’m finding the rhythm with this terrain and really enjoyed the day. I feel really good with this bike, for my style it is better.” Plus, it is always good to finish on the podium first time out with a new team… Further back in the bike race Mathieu Doveze (Nomade Racing) is first ‘privateer’, finishing just behind the ‘pros’ in 9th today (at 14’55) and in exactly the same position overall (at 32’20). Fleeting contact with more experienced riders is clearly doing him no harm either. Commented the Frenchman: “Yeah a good day. I rode a little with Rui Goncalves and it was interesting to follow him and see how he manages his race. Then I had a little technical problem with my bike and lost contact which was a pity.” Just behind him in 11th and leading the Challenge Road to Dakar is Julien Jagu (LG Rally Team), also gaining valuable experience on his first ever rally-raid. “I rode a lot on my own today, nobody in front, nobody behind and it was really nice, just concentrating on my navigation. I had a little crash in the second special, nothing serious, though the airbag did go off which was a surprise. I’m trying to pick up the pace a little but still not taking any risks.” In the quads victory on today’s stage went to Sebastien Souday (All Tracks) just 00’14 ahead of Toni Vingut (Visit St Antoni Ibiza) with Vincent Padrona third at 02’20. Overall Souday leads Padrona by 25’02 with Vingut third at 38’37. Going into the last day, Mitchel Van Den Brink (Bas Dakar Team) has a slimish lead in the Enduro Cup of 04’04 over his friend Van Wikselaar (Bas Dakar Team) with the Italian Tiziano Inerno (Honda CRF450) just less than an hour behind the fastest of the two neighbours. CARS If the fight is still very much on for overall victory in the car class, Yazeed Al-Rajhi is looking reasonably comfortable in third with Erik Van Loon (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) more than 10 minutes behind at 21’30. Al-Rajhi: “third overall is not too bad considering our first day problems. We hope we can carry on like that tomorrow and enjoy this nice race and great terrain. We’ll be starting second on the road and see what we can do – our target is the podium.” It could have been a very different story as far as the battle for third was concerned if Vaidotas Zala’s (Mini John Cooper Works Rally) charge hadn’t been so rudely interrupted when the belt to his alternator broke mid-way through the stage. His co-driver Paulo Fiuza managed to change it in under 20 minutes but unfortunately for the Lithuanian it put him out of the running. After breaking his clutch on the first stage of the 2021 Dakar it is about time this rapid and likeable competitor’s luck changed… In the T3, Guillaume de Mevius continues his impressive rally-raid debut to not only lead his category but also feature sixth overall in among the T1s. Commented the son of the famous Belgian rally driver: “I must admit I am a bit surprised to be so high up the overall rankings, especially after a fast day like today, given that we are limited to 130 kph. I think there’s a couple of reasons for that. We have good visibility, we can brake later and we are narrower than the T1 which makes it easy when the track closes in. Obviously when it opens up the T1s can accelerate away but these T3s are nevertheless a lot of fun to drive. For my part I’m happy to have stuck to my plan of taking it easy the first day and then up the pace over these last two days. It seems to have paid off.” In the T4 category Austin Jones (Monster Energy Can-Am) pushed hard to take the stage and the overall. As the American put it: “it was time to go if we want to win this race.” His efforts have set the stage for a thrilling SSV final with Austin just one and half minutes ahead of Khalifa Al-Attiyah (South Racing). It would have been even closer if Khalifa hadn’t lost 50 seconds rolling his car. Luckily for him he did it in front of a load of strong and helpful spectators… TOMORROW “This is a stage that is a little bit different from the others. As for stage 2 it is cut into two sections and competitors will be confronted by a start to the first section that is very technical, even more so than the 2nd stage, with many climbs and descents in the hills. The second part is a little more flat, averagely fast, but very pretty to finish in style in Villamartín.” TOTAL Andalucía Rally website : http://www.andaluciarallyodc.com
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