Stage 11 of the 2016 Dakar Rally proved to have more drama, despite KTM’s Toby Price extending his overall lead. The big news though was Honda’s Paulo Gonçalves crashing out, 118km into the timed section of the stage.
Trying to make up time to the front-runners, Gonçalves’s crash was pretty severe, and he had to be airlifted to a hospital in San Juan for his concussion. Thankfully though, doctors in San Juan determined that beyond the concussion, Gonçalves had no other major injuries.
“Today my participation in the Dakar 2016 came to an end in the worst way. It appears that I had a heavy fall, but I can’t remember what happened. I was told that I arrived on the bike to an area where there were spectators and ambulances,” said Gonçalves.
“It’s a Dakar that finishes for me in the worst way. It is a shame because the team really deserved much more. The competition is that hard and the last few days hadn’t been going that well. But we have to keep going and think that soon we will be back in competition.”
Honda’s hopes for the 2016 Dakar Rally now rest on the shoulders of American and Dakar rookie, Ricky Brabec – who is almost an hour back from overall leader Toby Price.
Speaking of the overall leader, Price confirmed that Stage 11 was a tough day at the office, but the KTM riders was confident that he could hold his lead for the last two rounds.
“It’s the third day from the end and it seems to be getting harder and harder, so they are definitely driving us into the ground at the moment. But yeah, it was a good day. We started off third and I caught the guys in front and then sat behind them a bit,” said Price.
“They made a mistake and I got past them, but then so did I. I fixed it quite quickly but they had got past me so I just sat there for a while. Then they made another mistake and I was good to go and I rode all the way to the finish. We’ve built the overall lead a little bit more, so hopefully I can make the last two days a bit more comfortable. We’ve still got a lot to go so for sure it’s going to be a long one and very tiring.”
“As long as we don’t lose 15 minutes in both these stages I think we will be fairly good,” added Price. “I’ve got to do it nice and smooth, look after the bike and make sure we rest up enough. Hopefully we’ll be in good shape.”
“We’re another day closer, but for sure, it’s been a hard one. I can’t smell victory yet, not yet. I won’t smell victory until I cross the finishing line on the last day.”
Price finished the day second fastest, while teammate Antoine Meo took the top honors. With Stefan Svitko finishing seventh, Price added 12 minutes to his overall lead, which is now over 35 minutes.
In third was Pablo Quintanilla, who is trying to make time on Meo, for the final spot on the podium. Today’s result didn’t help Quintanilla in that regard, but the factory Husqvarna rider is only a couple minutes back from the Frenchman on the overall standings.
“It was a really tough day, the longest stage and very hot. In the beginning I tried to push really hard until the refueling, but then I had a little problem with the rear brake and I had to slow down a bit,” said Quintanilla. “There were a lot of stones in the last 30km and we had no grip in the rear tire because it was really fast and a very hard surface. I’m very happy to finish today because it was a difficult day, but I think we did well.”
Talking about the fight for third, Quintanilla said the following: “Antoine is a really good rider and he’s really fast on the bike. It’s a nice fight with a good rider and a friend. Let’s see what happens in the next two stages.”
For Yamaha Racing, Helder Rodrigues is the last hope for Team Blue. A distance back from the final podium spot, over 15 minutes, Rodrigues is not out of contention, but he will have to make good time over the next two days.
His competition is certainly fierce, as four riders from four manufacturers all have the possibility of being on the podium in Rosario.
“It was so hot over there in the dunes! It was a nice rally-raid special today with a lot of navigation, but I must admit that every day of this second week is getting tougher, as we get closer to the arrival,” said Rodrigues. “There are only two days left before Rosario, but everything is possible and I know I can get an even better result. The Yamaha team is working hard to give us every opportunity to succeed; I will keep pushing and give my best until the end.”
Top 10 from Stage 11 – La Rioja to San Juan – of the 2016 Dakar Rally:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time | Diff | Penalty |
| 1 | MEO | FRA | KTM | 05:19:08 | – | – |
| 2 | PRICE | AUS | KTM | 05:19:26 | 00:00:18 | – |
| 3 | QUINTANILLA | CHL | HUSQVARNA | 05:21:56 | 00:02:48 | – |
| 4 | RODRIGUES | PRT | YAMAHA | 05:25:10 | 00:06:02 | – |
| 5 | VAN BEVEREN | FRA | YAMAHA | 05:31:17 | 00:12:09 | – |
| 6 | BENAVIDES | ARG | HONDA | 05:31:21 | 00:12:13 | – |
| 7 | SVITKO | SVK | KTM | 05:31:37 | 00:12:29 | – |
| 8 | BLYTHE | USA | KTM | 05:40:36 | 00:21:28 | – |
| 9 | VILADOMS | ESP | KTM | 05:44:37 | 00:25:29 | – |
| 10 | FARRES GUEL | ESP | KTM | 05:46:15 | 00:27:07 | – |
Overall Top 10 of the 2016 Dakar Rally:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time | Diff | Penalty |
| 1 | PRICE | AUS | KTM | 40:08:30 | – | – |
| 2 | SVITKO | SVK | KTM | 40:43:53 | 00:35:23 | 00:01:00 |
| 3 | MEO | FRA | KTM | 40:52:16 | 00:43:46 | – |
| 4 | QUINTANILLA | CHL | HUSQVARNA | 40:53:49 | 00:45:19 | – |
| 5 | BENAVIDES | ARG | HONDA | 41:05:35 | 00:57:05 | – |
| 6 | RODRIGUES | PRT | YAMAHA | 41:10:31 | 01:02:01 | 00:02:00 |
| 7 | VAN BEVEREN | FRA | YAMAHA | 41:42:16 | 01:33:46 | – |
| 8 | BRABEC | USA | HONDA | 41:48:25 | 01:39:55 | – |
| 9 | FARRES GUEL | ESP | KTM | 41:50:28 | 01:41:58 | – |
| 10 | MONLEON | ESP | KTM | 43:18:14 | 03:09:44 | – |
Source: Dakar; Photos: HRC, Husqvarna, KTM, & Yamaha Racing
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