The Spanish Laia Sanz (Honda) continues to amaze in the Dakar 2015 and in the ninth stage, disputed between the Chilean towns of Iquique and Calama, she managed to rise to eighth place in the general motorcycle ranking.
The day after signing a fifth place, Laia Sanz finished fourteenth in the ninth stage, 451 kilometers of special, 43:20 minutes behind the winner, Portuguese Helder Rodrigues (Honda).
“Yesterday, while I was doing the ‘roadbook’ I decided that it would be a day to take it easy, because the terrain seemed to be difficult,” says the KH7 team rider.
“The truth is that, despite dosing the energies and mechanics, Laia reinforces her position in the general. It is eighth at 1h.54: 37 behind the leader, his compatriot Marc Coma, and is 23 minutes behind the seventh, Frenchman David Casteu. In addition, he leads in 24 minutes to the ninth, the Slovak Ivan Jakes, and in 1h.12 to the eleventh, the also Spanish Joan Pedrero.
“Every day is exhausting, but today’s stage has been very exhausting, especially since we have accumulated a lot of fatigue. The special has been long and very physical, one of making arms. There was a lot of fesh-fesh and undulating stretches of sand. The navigation has also been difficult in the dunes, but I have been good at it, “said the Spaniard.
«Too bad there are so few dunes this year. Then in an area of dry rivers there was a ‘way point’ that has given many headaches to the people, but luckily I found it right away, so I arrived at the camp tired, but happy “, she adds
«The bike is great. I have not had any problems throughout the rally and I have to thank the team for giving me such a machine. Even after a day like yesterday, with the corrosion of the salt, today everything worked perfectly. My mechanic has spent the whole night without sleep changing everything that deteriorated. He has done a job of ten, “he added. EFE