2017 Dakar Rally – Stage 4: Chaos Ensues

Absolute chaos is the best way to explain Stage 4 of the 2017 Dakar Rally, as the day held surprises for more than a few of the event’s top names.

You may have already heard that KTM’s Toby Price broke his femur, crashing only a few kilometers from the end of the timed special stage. His Dakar is over, and KTM’s winning streak is certainly in danger.

It would be more so in danger though, if the Honda riders weren’t levied with a one-hour time penalty for fueling in a prohibited zone – a move that saw Joan Barreda bumped out of a comfortable lead, and relegated to seventh in the overall standings – 40 minutes back.

As such, Pablo Quintanilla and his Husqvarna technically lead the overall standings, followed by Walkner and three other KTM riders. With this time penalty, it seems very unlikely that the Honda riders will be able to regain their lost positions, though Honda is expected to appeal the ASO’s decision.

As if that entire scenario couldn’t get any weirder, there was still the 416km of timed course for the riders to contend with, including the first set of dunes so far in the 2017 Dakar Rally. With fesh-fesh and plenty of navigational challenges, all at high altitude (3,000 to 4,000 meters), Stage 4 was the mother of all stages.

The challenges only continue with Stage 5, which is set again to be full of navigational challenges, high altitude, and tough terrain.

We would like to give a special shout out to Ivan Jakeš, who was struck by lightning while racing today, and still managed to finish the stage.

Top 15 from Stage 4 – San Salvador de Jujuy to Tupiza

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time
1	WALKNER Matthias	AUT	Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team	KTM	4:57’22
2	BARREDA Joan	SPA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+2’02
3	DE SOULTRAIT Xavier	FRA	Viltais Racing Team HFP	Yamaha	+5’58
4	METGE Michael	FRA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+8’18
5	SVITKO Stefan	SLO	Slovnaft Team	KTM	+8’33
6	QUINTANILLA Pablo	CHI	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+9’22
7	FARRES Gerard	SPA	Himoinsa Team	KTM	+10’24
8	RENET Pierre-Alexandre	FRA	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+12’30
9	CAIMI Franco	ARG	Honda South America Rally Team	Honda	+13’03
10	VAN BEVEREN Adrien	FRA	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+13’11
12	BRABEC Ricky	USA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+16’05
13	SUNDERLAND Sam	GBR	Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team	KTM	+16’18
14	SMITH Todd	AUS	Duust Rally Team	KTM	+23’11
15	RODRIGUES Helder	POR	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+24’31

Provisional Top 15 Overall Standings for the 2017 Dakar Rally

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time
1	BARREDA Joan	SPA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	12:35’43
2	QUINTANILLA Pablo	CHI	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+18’19
3	WALKNER Matthias	AUT	Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team	KTM	+20’26
4	SVITKO Stefan	SLO	Slovnaft Team	KTM	+24’11
5	SUNDERLAND Sam	GBR	Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team	KTM	+24’31
6	GONCALVES Paulo	POR	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+25’45
7	FARRES Gerard	SPA	Himoinsa Team	KTM	+30’21
8	DE SOULTRAIT Xavier	FRA	Viltais Racing Team HFP	Yamaha	+30’57
9	BRABEC Ricky	USA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+31’50
10	VAN BEVEREN Adrien	FRA	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+33’09
11	RENET Pierre-Alexandre	FRA	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+33’32
12	CAIMI Franco	ARG	Honda South America Rally Team	Honda	+39’28
13	METGE Michael	FRA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+41’58
14	JAKES Ivan	SLO	Jakes Dakar Team	KTM	+1:04’02
15	RODRIGUES Helder	POR	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+1:19’59