The 2015 Dakar Rally headed back into Argentina today, as Stage 10 took riders out of Calama and into Salta. Stage 10 is the start of another marathon stage, meaning only the riders will be able to work on their machines tonight and tomorrow, until the end of the riding of Stage 11.
While the first marathon stage likely helped determine this year’s winner, the second marathon stage seems to be less of an affair. KTM’s Marc Coma sits with a seven-and-a-half-minute lead over HRC’s Paulo Goncalves. Goncalves finished 5th today, to Coma’s second, roughly two-minutes behind the overall leader.
“It’s been a tough Dakar. We have to fight many adverse situations but after so many days and despite the suffering, I am still enjoying it. That is what is great about this race. It makes you confront your limits and when you think you can’t do any more, you face them and move on,” said Coma.
“Today’s stage was very hard and it was not easy to keep up a high pace. At first there was the altitude, and then a technical part that really tested us. I tried to keep up the same pace throughout the stage.”
Taking the Stage 10 win was Joan Barreda, who is out of the competition overall, but still showing his form on the stages. HRC will have to readjust its strategy at this point in The Dakar if they want to unseat KTM, and Goncalves seems to be the team’s only hope of doing that. The overall standings are now decisively orange in nature.
“Today was a really quick stage, with some navigation that wasn’t too hard. The track was a bit slippery and we had to take it carefully,” said Goncalves. “The first four finished together at a quick pace. I think that we had a good stage without pushing it too much, because we are back in the marathon stage again. The bike is in perfect shape for the battle tomorrow, and I am too.
Top 10 from Stage 10 – Calama to Salta – of the 2015 Dakar Rally:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time |
| 1 | BARREDA BORT | ESP | HONDA | 04:07:11 |
| 2 | COMA | ESP | KTM | +01:39 |
| 3 | FARIA | PRT | KTM | +01:57 |
| 4 | PRICE | AUS | KTM | +02:14 |
| 5 | GONCALVES | PRT | HONDA | +03:46 |
| 6 | SVITKO | SVK | KTM | +06:22 |
| 7 | RODRIGUES | PRT | HONDA | +06:26 |
| 8 | QUINTANILLA | CHL | KTM | +06:29 |
| 9 | JAKES | SVK | KTM | +08:59 |
| 10 | VOGELS | NLD | KTM | +10:19 |
Overall Top 10 of the 2015 Dakar Rally:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time | Penalty |
| 1 | COMA | ESP | KTM | 38:13:50 | – |
| 2 | GONCALVES | PRT | HONDA | +00:07:35 | – |
| 3 | QUINTANILLA | CHL | KTM | +00:31:42 | – |
| 4 | PRICE | AUS | KTM | +00:32:06 | – |
| 5 | SVITKO | SVK | KTM | +00:45:19 | – |
| 6 | CASTEU | FRA | KTM | +01:41:14 | – |
| 7 | FARIA | PRT | KTM | +01:41:40 | 00:40:00 |
| 8 | SANZ PLA-GIRIBERT | ESP | HONDA | +02:05:00 | – |
| 9 | JAKES | SVK | KTM | +02:25:51 | – |
| 10 | PAIN | FRA | YAMAHA | +02:50:11 | – |
Source: Dakar; Photo: HRC
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