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TEAM HRC satisfied with Rally Dakar 2014, begins work on the 2015 edition. Six stage victories –five for Joan Barreda- in which the team was constantly in podium positions until the penultimate stage, as well as being the only team to have completed the entire competition without changing a single engine, are just some of the notable points that TEAM HRC can highlight after two tough and intense weeks of racing in the Rally Dakar 2014. In the world’s hardest off-road event TEAM HRC chalked up six wins out of a possible thirteen, with eleven podium places for the riders. Joan Barreda took the honours in stages 1, 3, 7, 10 and 13, and Sam Sunderland won on the second day. Hélder Rodrigues was the top finisher for TEAM HRC, in fifth overall place, Joan Barreda ended in seventh and Javier Pizzolito twenty-third. None of them needed an engine change which goes to show the high level of reliability and durability of the Honda CRF450 RALLY. Sam Sunderland and Paulo Gonçalves were both unable to finish the race after incidents in stages four and five respectively. The riders from Honda Argentina Rally Team, Laia Sanz and Pablo Rodríguez also saw the race through until the end. Laia Sanz was the top female rider, in seventh position in the ninth stage, achieving the highest final classification for a woman in the bike category. Pablo finished the Dakar in 32th place. The team bosses give their evaluation of TEAM HRC in the 36th edition of the Rally Dakar. Katsumi Yamazaki TEAM HRC Team Director Our Dakar 2014 is over, one in which so many things have happened in the span of two weeks. The most amazing of all was what happened to Paulo Gonçalves’ bike. He had a problem, the bike caught alight and we lost his participation. Sam too, had to drop out of the race. On the other hand Pizzolito, Hélder and Barreda put in consistent daily performances, always giving their best every day. I’m very pleased with these riders. Not only the riders, but also all the team behind them. Everyone did their job well. I’m proud to have such a work team. Besides, we have only used the machine for our own TEAM HRC riders. It’s a very positive sign for Honda, who have built and developed the engine and the bike, with very clear criteria; to be highly durable, reliable and with a great performance. I’ve very pleased with them. To be honest, this 2014 result hasn’t been a particularly generous one, but we never gave up trying to achieve our goal; victory. So, next time round in the Dakar, we’ll try and remedy this target that has escaped us. I’d also like to commend the support-riders: Pablo Rodríguez, Laia Sanz and Jean De Azevedo. They have done a fine job. It has been a very positive year for Honda so far. It has been a great start for the next Dakar. Because, for me, next year’s Dakar 2015 began yesterday. Thanks for all the support over the last few months. Martino Bianchi TEAM HRC General Manager I’m very pleased with this Dakar. Maybe not totally, but happy all the same. And I’m pleased because everyone did such a great job. It’s a tricky task handling two teams, five riders and putting everyone in their place with the same clear aim. We came really close to it. Barreda won five stages, and Honda took the honours in six, double the amount of any other team. It’s proof that we’ve got a great bike and fine riders; maybe we are lacking a bit of experience in this demanding and gruelling race, but I’m sure that we will be in the running for victory in the next Dakar. That is why we should be pleased with the results that we’ve achieved up until now, especially when you consider that we didn’t need an engine change in the entire 9000 kilometres of racing. This has been the big test of the reliability of our engine. We are also really proud of our ‘support team’ on the pre-production model who also managed to finish the race. We began to develop the bike last April, and Laia Sanz and Cacha Rodríguez have shown that it is a fine, very competitive bike. Honda and HRC have done a great job with the new Honda CRF450 RALLY.
Dakar 2014 Stage 13 18/01/2014 Chile La Serena > Chile Valparaiso Total: 535 km Special stage: 157 km Weather Sunny Air 25°C Humidity 30% Joan Barreda closes the Dakar with another victory, the sixth for the new Honda CRF450 RALLY The Rally Dakar 2014 has run its course. It was a fight to the finish for the TEAM HRC riders as the 36th edition of the world’s toughest race drew to a close. Hélder Rodrigues finished the highest of the Honda riders in fifth place, with Joan Barreda in seventh with five stage victories under his belt. All the Honda CRF450 RALLYs finished the gruelling rally with the same engines, signalling a huge success for the brand and highlighting the machine’s great potential. Fifth overall place in the Rally Dakar went to Hélder Rodrigues. The Portuguese rider nearly went from zero to hero aboard the Honda CRF450 RALLY, beginning the opening days with stomach problems and still having the chance of a podium place on the last day. Joan Barreda last night arrived back at the bivouac in La Serena exhausted after finishing the 349 km liaison thanks to the help of another rider who accompanied him back to the camp. Barreda had taken a heavy fall at kilometre 265 of the special, where the front end of his Honda CRF450 RALLY received some heavy damage. The rider was forced to stop and check the state of the different navigation components before hitting the road again. Nevertheless, in trying to make up for lost time, he fell again, this time causing an electrical problem, which required him to seek assistance from a fellow-rider. Today, after the mechanics fixed up the damaged bike parts, Joan Barreda was off again, storming home to victory once more. The rider from Castellón, Spain has now chalked up a total of five victories, and finishes in seventh overall position. Javier Pizzolito finished his fifth Dakar. The Argentine rider proved himself to be consistent in the latter part of the race, finishing two stages in the top ten. The ‘water carrier’ of Hélder Rodrigues finished the rally in 23rd place . Sam Sunderland, the winner of the second stage, was forced out of the race in the fourth round after a fall which broke the exhaust, causing overheating and meant that he was unable to finish the marathon stage. Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves finished three times in the top ten over the course of the first four days, but on a dreadfully tough fifth day some dry shrubs got caught up in his exhaust and set the bike on fire in dramatic fashion. He could only watch helplessly as the flames engulfed the machine. TEAM HRC is enormously satisfied with the job done by riders Laia Sanz and Pablo Rodríguez from Honda Argentina Rally Team, and Jean DeAzevedo from Honda Brasil Rally Team. Laia Sanz finished in seventh, the best stage finish for a female in the Dakar, and 14th overall on the Honda CRF450 RALLY pre-production model that will be available to rally riders later in 2014. Pablo Rodríguez improved in the final stages finishing in 32nd place. Jean DeAzevedo had to retire in the fourth stage after an incident where the sump took a heavy hit from a rock. Laia Sanz: "As the race went on I started to realize that I was further ahead than I had expected. I was very surprised to find myself up against people that before I hadn’t seen. I had a problem one day with a waypoint but for the rest I’ve been very consistent and I’m pleased about it". Pablo Rodríguez: "I’m very happy. It has been a very tough race but we’ve managed to finish. The bike was excellent and caused no trouble at all. I was able to come back in a couple of stages and do a good job. You’ve got to learn from some mistakes and keep looking to improve things". Joan Barreda 1st 1:59'44 TEAM HRC Today is the last day of the Dakar. For us it feels tough because I lost a lot of time with a problem after a fall at kilometre 200 But today I was back in the saddle like a pro, and I did a really good job in the special. In the end it wasn’t the result that we were working for in the Dakar. Well, now it’s time to go home and try to get to grips with what happened, how and where we went wrong and see how we can sort them out for next year. Helder Rodrigues 3rd +01'23 TEAM HRC The Dakar has finished and it’s been the hardest one that I’ve done yet. Honda has proved that it’s got a great bike. No one has had to change their engine even once in the two weeks of racing and that’s really important for us. I had a few problems last week, but nothing significant. I lost a bit of time, but the second week went better. I didn’t achieve my goal, but am happy to finish another Dakar. Javier Pizzolito 20th +11'53 TEAM HRC One more Dakar over. It’s not to be sniffed at! Maybe it wasn’t the general standings that we were hoping for, or the individual or collective ones either. It’s been a year of hard work where we’ve put together a really competitive bike with a lot of promise. I started the Dakar with a lot of problems in the third stage. But I was able to overcome them a lot better than my rivals. Classifications Stage 13
Dakar 2014 Stage 12 17/01/2014 Chile El Salvador > Chile La Serena Total: 699 km special stage: 350 km Weather Sunny Air 38°C Humidity 52% Helder Rodrigues, fourth in the penultimate Dakar 2014 special It was a troublesome stage for TEAM HRC in Copiapo, where Helder Rodrigues finished fourth and Javier Pizzolito tenth, on a day which Joan Barreda’s chances of taking a podium place in Valparaiso ended. The penultimate day of the Rally Dakar was played out first over rocky terrain before reaching a 150 km stretch of dunas outside Copiapó. Towering dunes in which one had to pay strict attention to the navigation. Portuguese rider Hélder Rodrigues rode into Copiapó aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY in fourth place. ‘Estrelinha’ now lies in fifth overall place just ten minutes away from a final place on the podium. Rodrigues will battle it out every inch of the way before the race winds up in Valparaíso tomorrow. Javier Pizzolito put in a good performance in the stage, with a tenth final place some 12’49” off the eventual winner. Joan Barreda, after marking a strong rhythm in the first part of the race, arrived at the refuelling in second place. He crashes in the kilometre 264 of the special in the area of sand dunes around Copiapo. He was forced to repair the damage and, subsequently, was unable to continue at full-speed. The Spanish rider fought on to stay in the race and finish the special. Now, he moves to the seventh place in the overall. Once again the commendable effort of the female member of Honda Argentina Rally Team, Laia Sanz, should be pointed out, finishing the penultimate stage in twelfth place, and thus scaling various positions on the overall leader-board. The Catalan rider is now in 14th. Pablo Gonzalez finished the day in 24th position. Helder Rodrigues 4th +07'21 TEAM HRC I rode a good stage and I felt comfortable. I saw Joan after his fall and asked him if he needed any help. He told me that it wasn’t necessary, so I carried on. It was a real shame that we was unable to carry on with the bike damaged, and needed the help of another rider to finish the special. Classification Stage 12 TOMORROW'S STAGE Saturday, January 18 Stage 13: La Serena –
Valparaíso Liasion: 378 km Special: 157 km Total: 535 km
Dakar 2014 Etapa 11 16/01/2014 Chile Antofagasta > Chile El Salvador Total: 749 km Special stage: 605 km Weather Sunny Air 35°C Humidity 25% TEAM HRC riders overcome long Dakar stage and maintain positions After this, the eleventh and longest stage so far in this edition of the Rally Dakar 2014, Joan Barreda crossed the El Salvador finish-line in fifth and Hélder Rodrigues in sixth position. It was Joan Barreda, who started out first today from Antofagasta, as the winner of yesterday’s stage. After completing the 144 km liaison he set of to tackle the 605 km special against the clock, the longest to date in the Dakar 2014. The eleventh stage covered a variety of terrain, hard ground, mountains, plus 120 km of sand and dunes in the Copiapo area. Joan Barreda fell about halfway through the special in the fesh-fesh zone, damaging the navigation system of his Honda CRF450 RALLY in the process. Without the road-book, the Spaniard was forced to wait for the other riders to be able to make it to the end of the stage. Barreda finished fifth and maintains second position in the overall. Portuguese Hélder Rodrigues was enjoying a good run until a problem with one of the petrol tanks arose. At refuelling he made an attempt to repair the tanks, refilled, and was able to finish the rally without conceding much time to his adversaries in the battle for the third podium step. After yesterday’s eighth place, Javier Pizzolito finished further back after he hit a rock and damaged the bike’s rear wheel suspension. Laia Sanz, made a decided effort to improve on her previous position, after a less positive day out yesterday. Today the Spanish rider never dropped below fifteenth place where she finally finished. Her team-mate from the Honda Argentina Rally Team, Pablo Gonzalez finished the special in the top forty. Joan Barreda 5th 08'12 TEAM HRC Today was one of the most important days with a lot of timed kilometres. I really tried, pushing hard from the beginning, but about 300 km into the race I had a heavy fall in the fesh-fesh zone and I broke the navigation system. I waited for Cyril [Despres] who was about six minutes behind and I stuck with him until the end of the special. I’m happy that we’ve got this difficult stage out of the way and we are a bit closer to the end. Helder Rodrigues 6th +09'23 TEAM HRC I’m pleased to be here at the finish. I had a problem with the fuel tank at km 100 and I tried to fix it, but it was really hard to mend and then the problem came back again. I tried to finish by filling the tank to the top and that way I was able to make it home. With a problem like that I could have finished way back, but here I am, and I’m fine. Javier Pizzolito 18th +35'47 TEAM HRC The longest stage has finished and here I am, back at the bivouac in El Salvador, which is great. It was mainly rocky ground today with a lot of off-road. I started out well, but felt a blow at the back and the rear suspension stopped working properly. We’ll find out what caused it tomorrow and then tackle the rest of the race. Classification Stage 11
Spectacular double for Honda in tenth stage of Dakar 2014 It was a fourth stage win for Joan Barreda in the 2014 Rally Dakar, and a fifth victory for the Honda CRF450 RALLY, as the team completed the double with Hélder Rodrigues coming in second. Javier Pizzolito ends in 8th place. The tenth stage of the epic Rally Dakar proved to be a really long but fruitful one for the Honda riders who stole the top two positions on the CRF450 RALLY. Joan Barreda dominated the Antofagasta stage with Hélder Rodrigues finishing the 688 km course behind him. Joan Barreda had previously picked up a fifteen-minute penalty for speeding in a radar control in the special yesterday. The Sentinel alarm system that reminds the riders they are entering an obligatory reduced speed zone failed to sound, and the rider from Castellón, Spain, momentarily exceeded the limit. The penalty dropped Barreda to tenth place in the standings. From the outset today, he set about making up the lost time on Marc Coma, his direct rival, and by the end of the day had clawed back 11 minutes 26 seconds. Hélder Rodrigues too, got off to a flying start, hotting up the pace from the previous outings as he seeks to secure a podium place. Barreda caught him up and the two crossed the finish-line together. In doing so, Rodrigues outruns his immediate rivals for the third place, and now occupies fifth overall position just 19 minutes off the podium. Javier Pizzolito put in a good stage performance too, picking up his best result so far in the Dakar 2014, arriving in Antofagasta with the eighth best time on the day. It was a good day for Honda Argentina Rally Team, who are being supported by Honda with the new pre-production CRF450 RALLY machine, with Laia Sanz continuing to break new ground for female motor sport. The Honda Argentina Rally Team rider finished the ninth stage of the Dakar in seventh place, which marks a best female partial classification so far to date in the rally. Today both Laia and team-mate Pablo Rodríguez finished a long gruelling stage in respectable positions after suffering some problems after a crash. Joan Barreda 1st 04:42'00 TEAM HRC It was a real shame about yesterday. I was relying on the Iritrack alarm sounding, but by the time I realized that it hadn’t gone off, it was already too late. A shame. Today we started out from behind and I had to stay really focused because the navigation was tricky. I kept a cool head and kept upping the pace with every kilometre. I clawed back a few minutes. Let’s see how it plays out tomorrow in Copiapó. Helder Rodrigues 2nd +08'00 TEAM HRC It’s been a good day for me. I tried to push really, really hard. It turned out well. I passed the dunes and saw only two indications. It was Cyril and Marc. I kept trying to gain on them until Joan caught up with me. We finished together. In the end Joan took the stage and I was second. It’s been really good for Honda and for me too. I’m pleased. Javier Pizzolito 8th +16'58 TEAM HRC It was a really nice, but long special. The first part with dunes had a bit of everything; the second with fesh-fesh and hidden rocks. I had a few issues with a fuel pipe that unnerved me a little but not too much. The bike ran really well with a high speed of 183 km/h, and that means the bike is... ‘wicked’! Classifications Stage 10 TOMORROW'S STAGE Thursday, January 16 Stage 11: Antofagasta – El
Salvador Liasion: 144 km Special: 605 km Total: 749 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 9 14/01/2014 Chile Calama > Chile Iquique Total: 451 km Special stage: 422 km Weather Sunny Air 27°C Humidity 19% Another positive stage for TEAM HRC: Barreda second again. The Dakar saw a navigation heavy stage which passed through many kinds of terrain and put the rider’s skill at using the roadbook to the test. The stage ended in spectacular style when the race –after some 40 km of dunes- finished with the picturesque steep descent into Iquique, from where the Pacific Ocean can be seen. TEAM HRC rider Joan Barreda set off early with a 06:47 start this morning, beginning the special some 422 km later. Sixty kilometres into the race he had caught up with Cyril Despres and once again, he made a solitary ride upfront opening the way for more than 350 km. The Spaniard really put the CRF450 RALLY through its paces finishing in second place. Hélder Rodrigues attacked hard again today in order to try and cut down the deficit with his immediate rivals in the fight for a podium place. His seventh place finish helps better his overall position. The Portuguese rider now lies in sixth in the general standings. Argentine Javier Pizzolito, who yesterday finished the second part of the marathon stage in the first twenty, continued to make progress today with a fourthteenth place stage finish. Laia Sanz, from the Honda Argentina Rally Team, finishes another excellent day, improving on her best results thus far in the Dakar. Tenth at the first time-check, she was able to cross the line in Iquique in ninth place in spite of having to use the roadbook manually for over 200 kms. Team-mate Pablo Rodríguez finished the stage without any setbacks. Joan Barreda 2nd +1'41 TEAM HRC A very complicated stage today. I tried to push from the beginning upping the pace as much as possible, but Marc [Coma] fought really hard and caught up with me in the dunes. I could do no more. There are two really tough days still awaiting us, but we are going to continue following the same line. Tomorrow I’ll be opening the way again. I’m very pleased with the job done. Helder Rodrigues 7th +11'44 TEAM HRC It has been a good one for me. I pushed hard. I knew that Cyril, Joan and Marc were really going for it, but I forced things to try and make up some time on the other riders. In the end I was out there on my own, not really fast, but I did well. I’m happy to still be here another day more. It has been long, but we have finished. Javier Pizzolito 14th +19'40 TEAM HRC It was a very entertaining special. I’ve experienced terrain of every type: rocks, technical, fast and we finished up in some really nice dunes, so I was able to set a good pace, and finish here, waiting to arrive in Valparaiso. Classifications Stage 9 General standings after Stage 9 TOMORROW'S STAGE Wednesday, January 15 Stage 10: Iquique -
Antofagasta Liasion: 58 km Special: 631 km Total: 689 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 8 13/01/2014 Bolivia Uyuni > Chile Calama Total: 680 km Special stage: 450 km (Modified) Weather Sunny Air 25°C Humidity 16% Barreda runner-up in second part of the marathon stage TEAM HRC’s Joan Barreda finished the eighth stage of the Rally Dakar 2014 in second place. Hélder Rodrigues crossed the finish-line in fourth, and Laia Sanz continues her run of excellent performances on the Honda CRF450 RALLY pre-production model. The Dakar said goodbye to an accommodating and vibrant Bolivia, and has moved on to Chile. Today saw the second leg of the marathon stage, in the area of Salar de Uyuni, which had been reduced in length by some twelve kilometres. Joan Barreda, yesterday’s winner, set about cutting down the distance with the overall race leader, opening the way in the special, in a solitary ride in which we clocked up a total time of 2’10”, second only to Cyril Despres. Barreda has clawed back four seconds from Marc Coma in the overall standings. Hélder Rodrigues, looking far more at ease in this stage, finished fourth some 6’44” behind the stage winner, and Javier Pizzolito ended the race in eighteenth. Honda Argentina Rally Team’s accumulation of good stage results continues with Laia Sanz always in the top twenty at the various time checks, finishing fifteenth at the end of the day. Team-mate Pablo ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez finished in the top fifty. Joan Barreda 2nd +2'10 TEAM HRC It was a really long special today and I’m very pleased with the marathon. I was ahead, opening the way, pushing hard and forcing the pace to try and cause the others to make mistakes. It hasn’t happened yet, but we have done really well with a couple of great stages and I’m very satisfied with a job well done. Helder Rodrigues 4th +6'44 TEAM HRC It was a good stage for me and I’ve picked up a few minutes on my nearest rivals. My goal is to fight for a place on the podium, that’s 45 minutes away, which is quite a lot, but I’m determined to give my all to achieve it. Classifications Stage 8 General standings after Stage 8 TOMORROW'S STAGE Tuesday, January 14 Stage 9: Calama - Iquique
Liasion: 29 km Special: 422 km Total: 451 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 7 12/01/2014 Argentina Salta > Bolivia Uyuni Total: 782 km Special stage: 306 km (Modified) Weather Overcast Air 31°C Humidity 38% An outstanding CRF450 RALLY and a third win for Joan Barreda in the Dakar 2014 The Rally Dakar left Argentina today and for the first time in the race’s history entered Bolivia. It was Joan Barreda who took the honours in the Salta-Uyuni stage, giving Honda TEAM HRC the fourth victory in 7 days of racing. Hélder Rodrigues finished in seventh place and Laia Sanz twelfth. Week two of the Rally Dakar got underway this morning from the Argentine city of Salta, in the northern region, heading towards Bolivia, for the first part of the special. Nevertheless, the meteorological conditions were such that the start had to be moved 103 km further up the course to the site of the way-point. Joan Barreda started at a cracking pace, clocking up the best times in both parts of the the special before arriving home with a 4.03 minute deficit over Marc Coma, the stage runner-up and overall leader. A fine performance too from Hélder Rodrigues in the seventh stage on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, who holds on to eighth overall place. The team’s third rider Javier Pizzolito, made a significant improvement in this stage, always up among the top twenty riders, arriving in Uyuni in 18th, where the riders will be without mechanical assistance, as this is the first part of the race’s second marathon stage. It was also a day of success for the team supported by TEAM HRC with the new Honda CRF450 RALLY machine. Laia Sanz goes from strength to strength and today recorded some excellent times on the stopwatch. She crossed the line in twelfth place. Her Honda Argentina Rally Team colleague, Pablo González put in a steady performance too. Joan Barreda 1st 03:28'41 TEAM HRC For sure I´m very happy about my result. Anyway it was very hard to stay focused. The high altitude made me feel a bit dizzy. Especially when the going got tough in the water and mud of the river. Helder Rodrigues 7th +10'57 TEAM HRC In this high altitude I was happy not to worry about any power loss of the motor. The engine with its self adjusting fuel injection worked very fine. Also I was impressed by the bolivian crowd waving flags the last 40 kilometres. Javier Pizzolito 18th +18'42 TEAM HRC It was a nice stage which made a lot of fun despite the rain in the first part. Honestly I didn´t expect such a overwhelming welcome by the bolivian crowd. It was incredible. Classifications Stage 7 General standings after Stage 7 TOMORROW'S STAGE Monday, January 13 Stage 8: Uyuni – Calama
Liasion: 230 km Special: 462 km Total: 692 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 6 10/01/2014 Argentina Tucuman > Argentina Salta Total: 464 km Special stage: 400 km Weather Sunny Air 37°C Humidity 24% TEAM HRC makes it to the break with Joan Barreda in second place. It was a fourth place finish for Joan Barreda, and sixth for Hélder Rodrigues in this, the sixth stage of the Dakar 2014, which finished today in the city of Salta, Argentina. Both riders will be poised to attack from good positions when the the second part of the rally recommences. It will be a well-deserved day of rest for the riders at the camp in Salta after six days of some of the most gruelling Dakar to date. It was, once again, a mountain stage full of hard ground, rocks, a lot of dust, some fesh-fesh and a fair share of animals. Joan Barreda finished in fourth place in the transition stage of today, taking no chances in the limited visibility and clouds of dust produced by the competitors up ahead. In doing so, the Spanish rider consolidates his position, and will be looking to push hard when the second week of the Rally Dakar gets underway. Helder too, stated how difficult it had been to gain any precious seconds on his rivals. It had been a blessing to the other riders to have started out in front. Rodrigues finished in sixth and moves up into eighth overall position. Argentino Javier Pizzolito crossed the line in 29th place. It was a pass with honours for the riders from Honda Argentina Rally Team, Laia Sanz and ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez who continue in the race. Laia Sanz, who picked up a one-hour penalty for missing a waypoint, today made up for the places dropped in the overall standings and is now back in 20th place. Pablo Rodríguez, not wanting to take any chances after a fall yesterday, took it calmly and finished in 43rd. TEAM HRC would like to make a special mention for Belgian rider Eric Palante, who passed away during the course of the fifth stage. Palante, a veteran and great aficionado of the Cross-Country Rallies was taking part in this his 11th Dakar on a Honda. Our most sincere condolences go out to family and friends. May he rest in peace. Joan Barreda 4th +2'22 TEAM HRC We made it to the half-way point at the rally here in Salta. We are happy, but it certainly hasn’t been an easy week, with a few problems, particularly yesterday. Today was a day for catching the group ahead. It was really difficult to overtake with the fesh-fesh, but it worked out and we will be setting off with the leading group on Sunday’s Salta – Bolivia stage. We’ll be giving it our best. Helder Rodrigues 6th +4'21 TEAM HRC Another day at the Dakar. The first part has finished. Today was a very technical day with a lot of dust and loads of dangerous curves. It was a very different special. They have been very quick and very dusty. The second special was really fast... and not so fast. Where you don’t really gain anything, but you can lose everything. Sixth in today’s standings isn’t bad. We shall fight on. Classification Stage 6 General standings after Stage 6 TOMORROW'S STAGE REST DAY Salta
Dakar 2014 Stage 5 09/01/2014 Argentina Chilecito > Argentina Tucuman Total: 728 km (Modified) Special stage: 211 km (Modified) Weather Sunny Air 39°C Humidity 14% Helder Rodrigues takes fourth place in a shortened stage Hélder Rodrigues takes fourth place for TEAM HRC, his best result to date, and climbs the leader-board in the Rally Dakar 2014. Security reasons have been cited for the cancelation of the second part of the special, which made up almost a third of the overall distance of today’s stage. The first part of the special was run at a cracking place, taking in some dunes and off-route navigation, before arriving at the neutralization zone. The riders had 111 untimed kilometres to run prior to the start of the second part of the special, but the organization decided to call it off completely. Joan Barreda sped off from sixth place today, looking to make up for lost time and straight away started clocking up some of the best times. Nevertheless, as he caught up with the riders ahead, the group took a path which turned out to be a mistaken one, and thus the rider concedes time to his closest rivals. Barreda finished in 17th place some 44 minutes off the winner of the special. In doing so, the Spaniard drops back into second overall place behind Marc Coma. Javier Pizzolito played it safe and finished in 33rd place. This morning’s stage took the riders through the dry scrubs, one of which got caught up between Paulo Gonçalves’ engine and exhaust setting the area on fire, which then spread to the engine. The flames engulfed the bike of the FIM Cross-Country World Champion, who although escaping unhurt, is forced out of the competition. The riders on the new production Honda CRF450 RALLY, Pablo ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez and Laia Sanz, finished amongst the front-runners once again. ‘Cacha’ scored the 16th best time against the clock and Laia finished 26th moving up into 16th overall place in the standings. Helder Rodrigues 4th +25'53 TEAM HRC Another day at a really long and really tough Dakar. It’s the fifth day of the hardest Dakar yet. Even though it’s only the fifth day, it’s been really difficult. The Dakar is so long and you have to keep up the concentration and be really strong to make it through the day and get a result. Joan Barreda 17th +44'20 TEAM HRC It’s been a really hard day, one of the most difficult, with very high temperatures and soft sand. Every day it just gets tougher. I had an issue with the fuel at the start of the special, but after I was able to get back into it. I caught up with Marc Coma and the fuel problems came back when I was looking for a waypoint. I lost a lot of time trying to repair it. The most important thing is that we finished, we are still in the race. Let’s see how the next few days play out. Javier Pizzolito 33th +1:14'44 TEAM HRC A really hard special. I had to start out from behind and struggle against the dust. Later the track opened out a bit and I was able to raise the pace and catch up with the riders in front. After I had a slight problem with the fuel that held me back a bit and another stage escaped us. But it’s always a plus to arrive. Today various bikes caught fire and it’s another filtering stage. Over a 120 bikes are out, so to make it back to the bivouac is good news. Classifications Stage 5 General standings after Stage 5 TOMORROW'S STAGE Friday, January 10 Stage 6: Tucumán -Salta
Liaison: 64 km Special: 400 km Total: 464 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 4 08/01/2014 Argentina San Juan > Argentina Chilecito Total: 563 km Special stage: 353 km Weather Sunny Air 36°C Humidity 20% Joan Barreda retains leadership in spite of tough stage Fourth stage of the Rally Dakar 2014 and a tricky day for the TEAM HRC riders who fought hard to finish in favourable positions ahead of tomorrow’s stage. Above all for Joan Barreda, who was able to overcome some complicated setbacks to finish in sixth position, but retains the overall standings. Joan Barreda continues at the head of the leader-board in the Rally Dakar 2014, albeit by a lesser margin after momentarily losing his way and conceding several minutes to his rivals before getting back onto the right route. The Spanish rider from Castellón continues to shine on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, registering another fine performance from the outset, that saw him crossing the Chilecito finish-line sixth on the day. The fourth stage started with a two-hour delay due to the difficulties inflicted upon the riders in the grueling outing of the previous day. Many bikes had lost their way, struggling to find the correct route until late into the night. Today’s second marathon leg to Chilecito, in the Argentine La Rioja region, similar to that of the previous day, was a mountainous affair with a lot of hard ground and rocks. Paulo Gonçalves was able to claw back several places, after having got lost on the previous excursion, and thus being forced to start from a long way back in today’s race. He finished in seventh position. Fellow Portuguese Hélder Rodrigues lost time to his opponents too, coming in ninth. Sam Sunderland suffered some problems during the liaison, where his engine stopped which forced him to drop out. The team is looking into what happened. Laia Sanz, the female rider being supported by Honda on the pre-production version of the Honda CRF450 Rally, once again put in a fine performance today, with a repeat of yesterday's twenty-first position. Her team-mate from the Honda Argentina Rally Team, Pablo Rodriguez finished twenty-third. Joan Barreda 6th +13'56 TEAM HRC I was going well in the stage, until about 80 km from the end when I took a wrong turning after seeing a note at the river crossing. I’d spent a long time yesterday going over the roadbook which also indicated another way. I lost a lot of time. I went back to the same place, and then took the same wrong direction. I fell while I was trying to make up the lost time. But the good thing is that I’ve been able to salvage something out it... I lost a bit of time, but we continue to be ahead. Tomorrow is another day and we will try and rectify everything. Classifications Stage 4 General standings after Stage 4 TOMORROW'S STAGE Stage 5: Chilecito-Tucumán Liaison: 384 km
Special: 527 km Total: 911 km
Dakar
2014 Stage 3 07/01/2014 Argentina San Rafael > Argentina San Juan Total:
665 km Special stage: 243 km (MODIFIED) Honda's Joan Barreda wins the first leg of the first marathon stage. Third consecutive victory for the Honda CRF450 RALLY Joan Barreda took victory in the third stage of the Rally Dakar 2014, and in doing so widens the deficit over his nearest rival to 13’04 minutes. This is the third straight win for Honda in three outings so far in the rally, and the second victory for the Spanish rider from Castellón, bringing his career track record at the Dakar up to seven. Sam Sunderland, as victor of the last stage, set off from the front of the rally. The British rider from TEAM HRC held his place firmly until the arrival of Joan Barreda, who quickly took over the leadership of what was a very complicated third stage of the Dakar. Barreda stayed at the head until the race wound up in San Juan. The second rider from TEAM HRC to finish turned out to be Helder Rodrigues who arrived home in 15th position. In spite of some setbacks, the Portuguese rider pulls back various positions and is now 14th in the overall standings. Sunderland and Paulo Gonçalves, after wait the helicopter for another rider injured, both made navigational errors and finished the special further back as Javier PIzzolito. The riders arrived back at the bivouac, and as this is the first of the marathon legs, will find no one other than their own TEAM HRC members. Today’s route had been reduced to 130 kilometres, as the first stretch of the special was in no condition for racing after the heavy rains of the previous week. The rest of the special covered a more normal route including some mountains zones, with hard ground and a lot of complicated handling. One again Laia Sanz, a member of Team Argentina put in an excellent performance finishing in 20th place. Likewise, Jean De Azevedo (Honda Brasil) and Cacha Rodríguez (Honda Argentina). All the riders that Honda will shortly have bikes available for have began the rally really well. Joan Barreda 1st 03:47'03 TEAM HRC This has been a really exceptional special, one like the Dakar has never seen before. Not only for the altitude but also for the hills and the steep slopes that we have had to endure. It was like a trial. In second gear, revved up, then stopping for breath before taking off again. A real trial run where you just had to try and not make any mistakes and keep up the concentration. The navigation was really tough and at no time did I really stop to see if I was on the right path. We crossed a few rivers at the start. I caught up with Chaleco and then Sam, who I saw had taken the wrong route. From then on I did the rest of the special on my own. In the final few kilometres on the way down I was able to open the throttle until the end. It really was a difficult one for everyone. Helder Rodrigues 15th +37'36 TEAM HRC A really difficult stage. I got lost and it took me a long time to get back on the right track. But I’m very happy to be back at the bivouac. Today I could have lost the race, but I’m still in with a shout in spite of dropping a few minutes. Paulo Goncalves 52nd 2:13'56 TEAM HRC I was up at an altitude of 4,500 metros with Sunderland and Grabham and we couldn’t find the right way. Grabham took a path which wasn’t the right one and we followed him. We lost loads of time looking for the right one. I realize that my Dakar is over. From now on I’ll be focused on helping out Joan Barreda. Sam Sunderland 54th +2:28'06 TEAM HRC For a while I opened the way, but I had a fall on a very steep slope. I lost a lot of time looking for the right route... at 4000 metres you get a bit disoriented. I found Gonçalves who was waiting for a helicopter to help Faria and we rode together. I fell several times as well as getting lost a lot. It’s an experience that we will have to learn from. Classifications Stage 3 1 Joan Barreda 03:47'03 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC 2 Cyril Despres +4'41 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing 3 Marc Coma +6'56 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 4 Alain Duclos +10'51 FRA SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory 5 David Casteu +11'17 FRA KTM Team Casteu 6 Chaleco López +16'36 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 7 Gerard Farrés +16'50 ESP GAS GAS Gas Gas JVO Factory Team 8 Stefan Svitko +19'06 SLO KTM Oraving Slovnaft Team 9 Kuba Przygonski +20'12 POL KTM KTM Rally Factory 10 Olivier Pain +20'34 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing General standings after Stage 3 1 Joan Barreda 09:56'44 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC 2 Cyril Despres +13'04 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing 3 Marc Coma +13'56 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 4 Alain Duclos +16'38 FRA SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory 5 Chaleco López +18'39 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 6 David Casteu +22'16 FRA KTM Team Casteu 7 Jordi Viladoms +34'33 ESP GAS GAS Gas Gas JVO Team 8 Olivier Pain +36'33 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing 9 Kuba Przygonski +37'54 POL KTM KTM Rally Factory 10 Stefan Svitko +40'09 SLO KTM Oraving Slovnaft Team TOMORROW'S STAGE Wednesday, January 8 Stage 4: San Juan-Chilecito
Liaison: 210 km Special: 353 km Total: 563 km
Dakar
2014 Stage 2 06/01/2014 Argentina San Luis > Argentina San Rafael Total:
724 km Special stage: 359 km Weather Sunny Air 39°C Humidity 22% After the win yesterday for Joan Barreda, today it was the turn of Sam Sunderland to take the stage victory. The British rider was a worthy winner of the Dakar’s second special, where the Honda CRF450 RALLY remains in top positions and where Joan Barreda continues to command the leader-board. The second stage of the Rally Dakar brought the riders from San Luís to San Rafael, taking in a total of 354 km against the clock, and including a range of diverse terrain types; hard ground, rocks and even some 70 km of navigation through the challenging dunes of Nihuil. What a stage victory it was for Sam Sunderland too! The British rider, who clocked up the stage’s fastest times, seemed particularly at ease, especially in the second half of the day, when he was able to prove his deft handling skills in the dunes. The result, his first victory in the Dakar, puts Sunderland up into third overall position. Joan Barreda was first away today and in his usual style, put pedal to the metal, and completed an almost hitch-free stage to continue to widen the deficit over his rivals in the overall standings. Barreda managed to hit a cow which was blocking the way and the impact broke the roadbook, forcing him to use it manually. In spite of this Barreda powered on to consolidate his place at the head of the leader-board. Paulo Gonçalves, determined to finish among the leaders, was running a fine stage until a problem with the gasoline’s vapor lock held him up and forced him back to an eight place finish. The Portuguese rider is now seventh in the overall standings. Hélder Rodrigues finished in fifteenth place, and Javier Pizzolito, who fell in the dunes, was able to finish in twenty-first place. After an excellent performance yesterday, the riders that Honda supports through Honda Brasil and Honda Argentina today saw positive results for Jean Azevedo, Laia Sanz and Cacha Rodríguez, all on the new Honda CRF450 RALLY. All of them were up in the first thirty places. De Azevedo is 23rd overall, Laia Sanz holds 26th place and Pablo Rodríguez is in 29th. Sam Sunderland 1st 3:42'10 TEAM HRC I’m really happy. The bike was fantastic, it’s been a great day with a mixture of different terrains, speed and technical zones. We got to the dunes which I get on really well with. It wasn’t a really long stretch, but it went well. I crossed the river which was deeper than I had expected, which got a few laughs out of the folk. But I’m really pleased for my first Dakar victory and to continue Honda’s winning streak. Joan Barreda 3rd +02'00 TEAM HRC I knew that it was going to be a day to be on the look-out for animals. When I was about 70 km away from the finish-line, with the big hazards out of the way and the navigation through the dunes completed, I crossed a river with low-visibility and came across a cow on the curve. I tried to avoid it, but it came running out and I ran into it. It wasn’t a great impact, but it broke the higher part of the navigation, and I had to work the roadbook manually. The first part was really speedy and I was opening a gap over the rivals. From kilometre 250 to 300 I had to stay really focused, which I’m very happy with. Paulo Goncalves 8th +07'45 TEAM HRC It was a really hard day’s rally. I had a couple of issues with the gas in the dunes and I lost a bit of time. It could have been a better day, but what the heck... I managed to finish and that’s the most important thing. Tomorrow we start out from good positions so the fight will go on. Javier Pizzolito 21th +21'22 TEAM HRC It was a beautiful stage, with a lot of kilometres and much dust. I went off with Hélder, and tried to push hard. I made a slight navigational error and I fell, which was worse for the bike than for me, as I’m fine. It could have gone better for me today, but considering I made it, I’m happy. Classifications Stage 2 1 Sam Sunderland 03:42'10 ENG HONDA TEAM
HRC 2 Chaleco López +00'39 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 3 Joan
Barreda +02'00 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC 4 Ruben Faria +04'07 POR KTM KTM Red Bull
Rally Factory 5 Alain Duclos +05'51 FRA SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory 6 Ben
Grabham +07'15 AUS KTM KTM AUS Rally Factory 7 David Casteu +07'27 FRA KTM
Team Casteu 8 Paulo Goncalves +07'45 PRT HONDA TEAM HRC 9 Marc Coma +08'23
ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 10 Cyril Despres +08'43 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha
Racing TOMORROW'S STAGE Tuesday, January 7 - Stage 3: San Rafael-San Juan
- Liaison: 292 km Special: 373 km Total: 665 km
Dakar 2014 Stage 1 05/01/2014 - Argentina Rosario > San Luis - Total: 809 km - Special stage: 180 km - Weather Sunny - Air 36°C - Humidity 18% Joan Barreda rides his Honda CRF450 RALLY to victory in the Rally Dakar after 25 years Honda had proved its strength last October with the new CRF450 RALLY, winning both the Morocco Rally and the Merzouga Rally. Thus, the team has taken command of the first stage of the 2014 edition, after 25 years of absence. It was back on 11th January 1989 when the official Honda HRC savoured victory for the last time. That was when Gilles Lalay took the fifteenth stage of the Paris-Tunisia-Dakar. Now, in the second year back in the event after a 24 year official absence, Joan Barreda has picked up a crucial first stage win on the CRF450 RALLY. After 25 years, Honda are back in the running. It was a very early start for the Rally Dakar. The pack of riders headed off at four in the morning on a long 405 kilometre liasion that took them towards the vibrant city of Rosario for the start of the 180 km special. Joan Barreda on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, got off to a storming start in the special, clocking up the fastest time of all the 175 riders at the first time-check, in this, the 2014 edition of the legendary Dakar. He would repeat the same feat at the end of the stage. Team-mate Paulo Gonçalves also kept up a cracking pace, holding on to fifth place at the close. Sam Sunderland’s Honda debut at the Dakar was productive, taking ninth position. Javier Pizzolito finished 19th and Helder Rodrigues in 22nd. Joan Barreda 1st 2:25'31 TEAM HRC "It’s been a great day. I’m really pleased for the first win with Honda, especially for the team that has worked so hard the whole year to produce this new bike. I’m really happy to have begun the Dakar like this. Today was a tough one. Few kilometres, but with a very difficult track full of rocks and very slippery. I managed to get off really well in the second part, keep up a good pace and get a result in the end." Paulo Goncalves 5th +02'25 TEAM HRC "It’s been a long day, over 800 kilometres and 11 hours on the bike with a very tricky special. Very technical, where I had a lot of difficulties with the bike sliding around a lot. In the second half I quickened the pace and the ride was much better. I’m very pleased for Joan’s victory, which is really good for us." Sam Sunderland 8th +04'33 TEAM HRC "We’ve finished the first day. A very long special that for us started when we had to get up at 3.00 a.m. More than 800 kilometres and a long liaison too. It was a really intense ride throughout the special. I made a minor error at the beginning and maybe because I changed the settings that punished the rear brake excessively. But in spite of everything, it hasn’t been that bad a stage." Javier Pizzolito 19th +08'09 TEAM HRC "It has been a hard stage. Being the first stage, I’d have thought that it would be more simple. A very sinuous mountain stage, that was very physically demanding. The bike was very well behaved, so let’s see how we get on in tomorrow’s stage, which should be very different from today’s." Helder Rodrigues 22th +08'58 TEAM HRC "Today was a very difficult one for me, especially being the first of the Dakar. It was very technical with a lot of bends and you had to be really careful how you handled it. I’m not very happy with the result, but I was able to finish the stage, and you can’t take any risks at the Dakar just for one stage."
Classifications Stage 1 TOMORROW'S STAGE Monday, January 6 Stage 2: San Luís-San Rafael
Liaison: 365 km Special: 359 km Total: 724 km
After two days of testing at Argentina’s Honda Motor factory in Campana, TEAM HRC are ready to face the challenge of the Rally Dakar 2014. TEAM HRC are now in Rosario, Argentina, where the 2014 edition of Rally Dakar starts out from. The rain was there to greet the participants in the checks taking place from 2nd to 4th January, where competitors will have to pass administrative tests as well as technical inspections of vehicles. The rain, at least, has helped to quell the high temperatures experienced in the zone prior to arrival of the teams. TEAM HRC bikes and vehicles arrived at the Campana factory, north of Buenos Aires, for the final details and tuning before they headed off to Rosario for verification. TEAM HRC members, Joan Barreda, Hélder Rodrigues, Paulo Gonçalves, Javier Pizzolito and Sam Sunderland tested out the Honda CRF450 RALLY on the Otamendi motocross track, without any setbacks. Both riders and the bikes are now ready for the great challenge that is the Rally Dakar 2014. The race itself will get underway from the Rosario starting grid on 5th January, where riders head off for San Luís. After crossing Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, the race will wind up in the Chilean city of Valparaíso, after some 8,734 kilometres of Rally. Katsumi Yamazaki TEAM HRC Team Director Martino Bianchi TEAM HRC General Manager Share |
