Day four of the 2014 Dakar Rally saw some interesting events, as riders competed on machines that they had to prep themselves the night before, as a part of the first “marathon” stage. Racing over 353 km in Argentina, between San Juan and Chilecito, for Stage Four, riders had another tough day of racing, though favorite Cyril Despres had arguably the worst of it.
Just 9 km from the finish line, and likely to take the outright lead in the process, Despres’ Yamaha YZ450F Rally encountered an electrical short, which caused the race bike to stop working. The mechanical would cost Despres 40 minutes in time, and drop him down to sixth overall, 41 minutes behind Dakar leader Joan Barreda.
Barreda too though would have a tough outing, crashing and losing time to a very fast Marc Coma, who finished third for the day. Coma and his KTM now sit only three minutes and ten seconds behind Barreda and his Honda for the outright lead.
Winning the stage was Spain’s Juan Pedrero, with Chaleco Lopez finishing second, only 29 seconds back.
Top 10 Riders from Stage 3 – San Juan to Chilecito:
1. Juan Pedrero – ESP – Sherco – 05:29:13
2. Chaleco Lopez – CHL – KTM – +00:00:29
3. Marc Coma – ESP – KTM – +00:02:41
4. Israel Esquerre – CHL – Speedbrain – +00:06:30
5. Olivier Pain – FRA – Yamaha – +00:07:01
6. Joan Barreda – ESP – Honda – +00:13:56
7. Paulo Gonclaves – PRT – Honda – +00:18:38
8. Ivan Jakes – SVK – KTM – +00:19:30
9. Alain Duclos – FRA – Sherco – +00:23:13
10. Daniel Gouet – CHL – Honda – +00:24:38
2014 Dakar Rally Overall Standings after Stage 3:
1. Joan Barreda – ESP – Honda – 15:39:53
2. Marc Coma – ESP – KTM – +00:03:10
3. Chaleco Lopez – CHL – KTM – +00:05:12
4. Alain Duclos – FRA – Sherco – +00:25:55
5. Olivier Pain – FRA – Yamaha – +00:29:38
6. Cyril Despres – FRA – Yamaha – +00:41:17
7. David Casteu – FRA – KTM – +00:42:17
8. Jordi Viladoms – ESP – KTM – +00:49:14
9. Kuba Przygonski – POL – KTM – +00:54:52
10. Stefan Svitko – SVK – KTM – +00:56:45
Source: Dakar; Photo: Yamaha Racing
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