After the rest day in Salta, the Dakar will start the second week of competition with a route that will double the demands for the pilots with the dunes, navigation and heat as the main protagonists.
Both motorcycle riders and their car pairs agreed that the next three stages will be decisive in defining the fate of this eighth South American edition of the Dakar.
This edition of the Dakar reached its equator with 289 vehicles still in the race (112 motorcycles, 36 quads, 90 cars, 51 trucks, that is, 83% of those who started).
After the premature goodbye of the Spanish Joan Barreda (Honda), the Austrian Matthias Walkner (KTM) and the Portuguese Ruben Faría (Husqvarna), the competition in its first edition without the two referents of the last decade, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, is open.
The Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) starts as the leader, but the KTMs of the Australian Toby Price and the Slovak Stefan Svitko lie in wait and try to strike.
Behind are the South Americans, the Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) and the pleasant Argentine surprise Kevin Benavides (Honda), along with the French Meo Antoine (KTM), the Portuguese Helder Rodríguez (Honda) and the Spanish Gerard Farres (KTM).
The dizzying pace and injuries marked the first stage of this eighth South American edition, on a route that will become more dangerous and intense in the next three days.
Among the cars, the Peugeot brand has hit the table and has placed three of its four drivers on the partial podium, with the Dakar rookie, the Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, first followed by his compatriot Stephane Peterhansel and then the Spanish Carlos Sainz.
Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah, defender of the title, from fourth place intends to fight and has found on this last day some complicity of also Finnish rookie Mikko Hirvonen.
The Toyota of South Africans Giniel De Villiers, Leroy Poulter and Saudi Yazzed Alrahji continue in the standings, with Argentine Emiliano Spataro (Renault) completing the top ten places.
Among the quads, on their return to the adventure test, the Yamaha of the Patronelli brothers have taken over the leadership, taking advantage of the abandonments of the Chilean Ignacio Casale and the Polish Rafal Sonik, defender of the 2015 crown.
Jeremías González Ferioli, also from Argentina, completes the Yamaha podium, while Alexis Hernández from Peru is fourth, confirming South American dominance in this specialty.
Finally in trucks, the Dutch dominate Pieter Versluis with Man and Gerard De Rooy with Iveco, but from behind the threat of the Kamaz with the Russians Airat Mardeev, last winner in 2015, and Eduard Nikolaev begin to appear.
The surprising Argentine Federico Villagra (Iveco) was relegated to sixth place just over 15 minutes behind the leader. EFE
Dakar begins its final stretch between dunes and heat
