Dakar stage 11 news 14.01.2016: Dakar Rally 2016 January 14th - stage 11 - 431km La Rioja to San Juan

Dakar Rally 2016
January 14th - stage 11 - 431km
La Rioja to San Juan




12:27 : Bikes: Gonçalves exits the race!

It was looking likely and the Dakar has indeed finished for Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) after 118 km of the day’s special. The Portuguese rider is in the hands of the medical team and will be evacuated from the stage to undergo examinations.


12:23 : Bikes: Van Beveren still in good company

Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) is riding at a good pace at CP2 (after 243 km). The Frenchman, in seventh place, is 2’23’’ behind Helder Rodrigues, his team-leader, who is currently occupying fifth place on the stage.



12:06 : Quads: no change in the leading trio

It’s the same old story as it would seem that this 11th stage is a carbon copy of yesterday’s scenario. At Way Point 4 (after 120 km) Brian Baragwanath leads the dance ahead of the two Patronelli brothers.



12:04 : Cars: the gap shrinks between Loeb and Peter

At Way Point 2 (after 105 km) the gap is closing between the two Peugeot team-mates, to say the least. Sébastien Loeb is still credited with the best time, but leads Stéphane Peterhansel by only one second.


The general standings leader has gained 28 seconds back from the nine times WRC winner.



11:54 : Bikes: Meo trails at CP2

Antoine Meo has reached CP2 (after 243 km) which is also a refuelling point for the bikes. At the mid-way point, the Frenchman, fourth in the general standings, lags 3’28’’ behind Pablo Quintanilla, the day’s second fastest rider. Given the 430 kilometre length of the special, all is not lost for the five times world enduro champion, as he still has time to reverse the trend.


11:49 : Bikes: Price quickest at CP2

The first three riders to set off this morning have reached CP2 (after 243 km) and Toby Price has again demonstrated that he has the stature of bike category boss. At the mid-way point, he leads Kevin Benavides by 3’02 and Stefan Svitko by 6’09’’.



11:34 : Bikes: leaders near to CP2

The stage leaders are approaching CP2 (after 243 km), which is located at almost the half-way point of the special. For the moment, general standings leader Toby Price (KTM) appears to have taken control of the stage after an initial attack from Antoine Meo. Watch this space…



11:18 : Cars: Loeb is back!

After three difficult days, Sébastien Loeb is returning to form on the start of this special. At Way Point 1 (after 50 km) the Peugeot driver is ahead of his team-mate and general standings leader, Stéphane Peterhansel, by 29 seconds. Cyril Despres currently occupies third position.



11:10 : Cars: the cars enter the fray

The cars have started the special, led out by Stéphane Peterhansel, yesterday’s winner.



11:09 : Bikes: a minor mistake for Meo?

At Way Point 4 (after 120 km) Antoine Meo has lost a fair amount of time to his rivals, especially Pablo Quintanilla. The Frenchman is in sixth place, 3’12’’ behind the Chilean.



10:50 : Heat will also play a part

The competitors already on the special will have another difficulty to deal with today, in addition to the pitfalls of the route. The heat is likely to severely physically test the riders because temperatures are forecast to be higher than 40°C.



10:46 : Quads: Baragwanath is still hungry

After his victory yesterday, South African Brian Baragwanath evidently wants to repeat the feat today. Riding quad number 274, he leads the Patronelli brothers by 43 seconds over Marcos and 1’48’’ over Alejandro at Way Point 1 (after 50 km).



10:44 : Bikes: it is not looking good for Gonçalves

I addition to his minor navigation error, it appears that Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) has also crashed and fallen. For the moment, he is immobilised…



10:27 : Bikes: Meo loses a bit or ground

At the third way point (after 135 km) Antoine Meo (KTM) is second to Toby Price (KTM), his team leader. The general standings leader has raised the pace and the Australian now leads the Frenchman by 37 seconds.



10:20 : Bikes: Gonçalves gets lost?

It seems that Paulo Gonçalves has confused haste and speed on the start of this special. He appears to have taken the wrong direction at around the 117-km mark and is currently halted.



10:15 : Bikes: Quintanilla 44 seconds behind Meo

Au passage du Way Point 2 (after 105 km), Pablo Quintanilla trails Antoine Meo by 44 seconds. The Chilean has more or less lost the same amount of time to the Frenchman as on the route to the first way point. So far, Meo is the day’s fastest rider on the special.



10:08 : The quads start the special

The quads have now got to grips with the day’s racing on a special that has started fairly badly for rider number 288: Frédéric Alard has just crashed and fallen. The incident was not a serious one, but he is at a standstill repairing the damage to his machine.



10:05 : Bikes: Price is not resting on his laurels

At the second way point (after 105 km), Toby Price has again been lightning quick. He now leads Stefan Svitko by 1’54’’.



10:05 : Bikes: Price is not resting on his laurels

At the second way point (after 105 km), Toby Price has again been lightning quick. He now leads Stefan Svitlo by 1’54’’.



10:02 : Bikes: Meo commences hostilities

At the first Way Point (after 50 km) Antoine Meo (KTM) is not hiding his ambitions for the day. He is the fastest rider so far, 27 seconds ahead of Quintanilla. In other words, the Frenchman has almost made up a third of the time he needs to overtake the third in the general standings. He is off to a great start!



09:21 : Motos: Price takes the lead

At the first Way Point (after 50 km) Toby Price, the leader of the general standings, has been the quickest of the top 3. He leads Svitko, his nearest pursuer in the general standings, by 34 seconds. Clearly, the Australian is trying to catch up with the Slovak before perhaps basing his pace on that of his adversary.
 



- ASO -