2016 Dakar Rally – Stage 9: This Is What Hell Looks Like

Stage 9 of the 2016 Dakar Rally proved to be a hellish one, which ultimately saw race officials shortening the day’s route, even though some riders had completed the full-stage distance. The course shortening came about because temperatures reached 113°F (45°C), leaving the ASO no choice but to end Stage 9 at the second checkpoint.

From CP2, riders were sent straight to their bivouac, where they began their second marathon stage. As such, they will not have the benefit of their team mechanics to make adjustments and repairs to their machines for Stage 10.

This fact could be very significant for HRC, since their day was especially difficult, as Paulo Gonçalves suffered a punctured radiator, and lost significant time to KTM’s Toby Price.

The good news for HRC is that Paolo Ceci was able to tow Gonçalves’s bike to CP2, which meant he finished the stage because of the shortened course. The bad news though is that Gonçalves’s engine seized from a lack of cooling, and will require significant work before tomorrow’s start.

With the marathon stage, Gonçalves will have to rely on his teammates to help him repair the Honda CRF450 Rally race bike. Honda says it is far from throwing in the towel on the situation, though they have a difficult road ahead of them.

Despite this attitude, the 2016 Dakar Rally is essentially now Price’s to lose, with only a couple more days of solid racing remaining.

Yamaha Racing’s Helder Rodrigues also had a hard day, falling early in the stage. He had to fight hard to keep his position, and ultimately finished the day 8th quickest. His overall position remains at seventh, though he is now over 50 minutes back from the lead.

Waving the banner for Husqvarna, Pablo Quintanilla officially finished the day seventh, though earlier result sheets had him at fourth for the day, and third overall. Unfortunately, the course shortening dropped Quintanilla to seventh on the day, and fourth overall. The rank on the sheets matters little though.

At 38 minutes behind Price, Quintanilla will have to have strong stages on Wednesday and Thursday, with Price having at least one bad day at the office, in order for him to have a shot at this edition of The Dakar. Still, 2016 has been an impressive debut for Husqvarna, and of course, anything can happen when it comes The Dakar.

“For sure, today was a really hard stage. From the beginning there was a lot of navigation and a lot of off-piste with dunes and vegetation.  I was trying to ride regularly, trying to push with confidence and not take many risks,” said Quintanilla.

“It’s important to take care of the bike and take care of the body by avoiding crashes. We still have some stages in front of us and we have to try and be regular. I feel really good, I have confidence and I’m really happy with the bike and with the team. The team did an awesome job.”

Americans will be happy to hear that their fellow countryman Ricky Brabec ended the second fastest on the shortened stage, after the ASO fiddled with the results. He currently sits ninth overall.

Wednesday’s route will be another difficult day for the 2016 Dakar Rally competitors, with Stage 10 being mostly off-piste, with much of the day spent in the sand dunes. As such, Stage 10 will not only test the navigational abilities of the riders, but also their stamina.

As if things weren’t difficult enough, Stage 10 is featuring a “super special section”, which has an exceptional starting order: the ten fastest cars, ten fastest motorbikes, and five fastest trucks will set off…together. It should be a melee.

Top 10 from Stage 9 – Belén to Belén – of the 2016 Dakar Rally:

Overall Top 10 of the 2016 Dakar Rally:

Source: Dakar; Photos: HRC, Husqvarna, KTM, & Yamaha Racing