Dakar stage 10 first news - a lot of problems 13.01.2016: Dakar Rally 2016 January 13th - stage 10 - 431km Belen to La Rioja

Dakar Rally 2016
January 13th - stage 10 - 431km
Belen to La Rioja



Belen-La Rioja: more dunes on the menu

Although stage ten will take the competitors away from the dunes around Fiambala, they will not be leaving in a hurry. Indeed, the day’s programme includes the highest mileage of off-piste rallying on the event, which will suit the desert specialists down to the ground.


For the rest, they will just have to grit their teeth and hope that the heat does not add to the difficulty. As regards the bikes and the quads, they will have to try to look after the mechanical health of their machines until the end of the marathon stage if they want to reach Rosario.


Finally, this 763-kilometre long day, including 278 kilometres of timed section, will be marked by a brand new type of start. The first ten cars will start at the same time as the fastest 10 bikes and leading 5 trucks, which promises to be a spectacular introduction to the day.




10:08 : Motorcycles: sparks fly at the front

The battle between Kevin Benavides (Honda) and Toby Price (KTM) rages on. The two are almost neck-and-neck as Štefan Svitko (KTM) inches closer and closer. The trio is about 143 km into the special.



10:05 : Cars: Van Loon stuck in the sand

Eric van Loon has been at a standstill for over half an hour. He reportedly got stuck in the sand and is having mechanical problems with his Mini. The result of his barrel roll earlier today?



10:01 : Motorcycles: Price losing time at CP2

Only three motorcycles have gone through CP2, but Toby Price (KTM) is losing a fair amount of time to first-placed Štefan Svitko. The Aussie is 4'31' behind the Slovak, who's second in the overall classification. Kevin Benavides (Honda) sits in second place, 1'19' behind the leader.



09:43 : Cars: Peter also loses his bearings!

This is the stage that just keeps giving! After Sainz, Al-Attiyah and Hirvonen, it was Stéphane Peterhansel's turn to wander around looking for the first waypoint. Peter is back on track after driving around for some time.



09:41 : Cars: Van Loon stops again

Erik Van Loon has again stopped at the start of the timed section, approximately 31 km into the special.



09:33 : Cars: Hirvonen lost

Mini's having a terrible start to today's special. After Van Loon and Al-Attiyah, it's now Hirvonen's turn to concede ground. It looks like the Finn wandered around for a while before validating the first waypoint.



09:12 : Motorcycles: first riders go through CP1

Toby Price (KTM) just blasted through CP1. The Aussie overall leader is once again riding at full tilt. His strategy is clear: full steam ahead!



09:11 : Cars: Van Loon back on his way

Dutchman Van Loon is back in the race after doing a barrel roll earlier today. The Mini driver has obviously lost loads of time.



09:03 : Cars: a poor start for Sainz!

Carlos Sainz is having a streak of bad luck in the early part of today's special. The official Peugeot driver suffered a flat tyre while looking for the beacon of the first waypoint. Yet another setback for the provisional leader.



09:01 : Cars: Al-Attiyah back in the race

Nasser Al-Attiyah is back on his wheels. The official Mini driver managed to get going after his barrel roll at the start of today's special. However, a big question mark hangs over the condition of his car and whether he'll be able to keep his promise of attacking in the final dune sector of the Dakar.



08:59 : Cars: Sainz losing time

What a start. Carlos Sainz (Peugeot), the first driver to start today, seems to have run into trouble looking for the first waypoint. He's been overtaken by De Villiers (Toyota) and Hirvonen (Mini) after driving round and round near km 30.



08:57 : Trucks: De Rooy on the move!

The juggernauts have entered the race, with Gerard de Rooy starting today's special a few moments ago. The first truck will be followed by Despres and Peterhansel (Peugeot).



08:56 : Cars: Al-Attiyah upside down!

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini) may have seen his hopes go up in smoke. The Qatari is reported to have done a barrel roll 5.85 km into the special. The first part of the car race is very lively, with Van Loon confirmed to have also done a barrel roll some time earlier.



08:55 : Cars: an early stop for Van Loon!

Erik van Loon, who produced an amazing performance yesterday (2nd), is reported to have stopped a mere 5 kilometres into the special.



08:37 : Motorcycles: Price goes on the attack!

For overall leader Toby Price, the best defence is a good offence. The official KTM rider, who's opening the road today, took an alternate route and everyone else followed. How exciting!



08:19 : And we're off!

The race is on! The five motorcycles are already in the special and the first car driver, Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) has just started.



08:18 : Malles moto: Jurgen van den Goorbergh

The Dutchman switched to the Dakar as soon as he ended his Moto GP career (250 cc and 500 cc). Jurgen has had a go at each category since his debut in 2009: motorcycles, of course, but also as a solo car driver and then as a truck navigator.


This year he is back with his first love, his motorcycle, but in the malles moto category, which means he has no assistance crew. The least we can say is that Van den Goorbergh is doing quite well. He will start today's stage as the malles moto leader and in 37th place overall.



07:59 : The girls are still in the mix

There are only 97 motorcycles and 32 quads left in the race, but the two women in each category are still hanging on tough.Laia Sanz is 14th in the motorcycle category, with Rosa Romero Font, Nani Roma's wife, in 75th place.Camelia Liparoti is 21st in the quad category, while Covadonga Fernández Suárez is 27th.Hat-tip to the ladies!



07:31 : Start delayed

The start of today's special has been delayed as a result of the thunderstorms that swept the area last night. A swollen río in the first timed sector has become impassable, so race officials have decided to wait and see before firing the starting gun.



07:00 : Starting order for today

The key feature of today's stage 10 is that the leaders of the three categories will start 'together'. Their starting order follows:In the motorcycle category, Price (KTM), Benavides (Honda), Svitko (KTM) and Quintanilla (Husqvarna) will be first out of the gate with 3-minute intervals between one and the next.


Next up, the cars of Sainz (Peugeot), Van Loon (Mini), Hirvonen (Mini) and De Villiers (Toyota).After the first wave, Antoine Méo (KTM) will take off, followed by Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini).This looks set to be a nail-biting stage.



06:48 : Paulo Gonçalves limits the damage

The official Honda rider, who was on the brink of withdrawing from the race yesterday, limited the damage in the classification. Race officials extrapolated from the time of the last competitor to finish the special and the times taken at CP2.


Gonçalves, like all other riders, finished the stage virtually. His assigned time of 3 h 58'54' means he lost 31'56' to yesterday's winner, Toby Price, and slipped to third place overall, 34'01' behind the Aussie.Gonçalves is still in the race, at least officially, but the condition of his motorcycle still was his big concern yesterday evening.


Since he was unable to call upon his assistance due to it being a marathon stage, the Honda leader had to use whatever means available and get help from his teammates to get his motorcycle into acceptable shape for this morning.





- ASO -