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Dakar 2017: Stage 11: Santosh moves up the rankings!

Dakar 2017: Stage 11: Santosh moves up the rankings!

January 14th, 2017 MotoSport, News comments

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Joaquim Rodrigues once again claims 10th place, C.S Santosh moves into 48th position
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Photo Courtesy: Hero Speedbrain

 

With the last major stage done and dusted, the 2017 Dakar is set to wind down in 24-hours. But, before the champagne is popped, one last special stage of 64 km needs to be finished before the participants head to Buenos Aires for a grand reception for the finish podium ceremony and the winners are crowned.For Hero Motosports Team Rally, there is much to celebrate with the last big special stage behind it. For a team that’s making its Dakar debut, both riders, Joaquim Rodrigues and C.S. Santosh, completing the 11th stage is crossing a major threshold. The newest team and manufacturer in the paddock has proved that it has the resolve, grit and the talent to succeed at the world’s toughest race.Rodrigues, who finished the previous special in 19th place, tackled the dunes and the fast racing lines in the second part of the special stage, which was the penultimate timed section of the 2017 Dakar, with great poise and skill. For the team, and for many in the paddock, he has been nothing short of a revelation for speed and navigation skills. Rodrigues completed the 11th timed section of 288 km in 3 hours 37 minutes 56 seconds that puts him 14th place in the day’s classification, once again helped in reclaiming the coveted 10th place in the provisional overall general classification.“Today we went straight into the dunes and it was very bumpy with a lot of hidden summits, which made it really tough. I took my time to find my rhythm. After that I also found some speed. In the second part of the special, we had WRC-type fast, hard-packed and very slippery track. Once again, I needed to get into a nice rhythm. I even overtook a couple of riders and reached the end of the special in good time. So, I am really happy for myself and the team. I am looking forward to reach Buenos Aires tomorrow,” said Rodrigues after reaching the bivouac.Santosh, who started the 11th special stage 37 place, rode a consistent race after he got into the flow of things. He kept the momentum going in the dunes and the fast sections. The Indian rider finished the timed section in 50th place with a time of 4 hour 28 minutes 34 seconds, which puts Santosh in 48th place in the provisional overall general rankings.

“It was comparatively shorter stage, but every bit tough. Especially, the initial part in the dune. They were not much of dunes, but massive whoops for almost 60 km. After that there was fesh-fesh to deal with. In the second part of the stage, I found more speed, but it was a very fast track with little traction because the surface was very slippery. I also caught up with some riders, but there was so much of dust that it was difficult to pass. But I am happy to make it to the end of the stage,” said Santosh.SAM SUNDERLAND & MATTHIAS WALKNER IN 1-2 OVERALL WITH DAKAR FINISH IN THEIR SIGHTS
 
Photo Courtesy: KTM/ Marcin Kin

Photo Courtesy: KTM/ Marcin Kin

 
Red Bull KTM factory rider duo Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner wrapped up the penultimate stage of the very tough Dakar Rally on Friday and head for the finish line in Buenos Aires on Saturday in overall 1-2. With just one short timed special left, it will be a remarkable achievement for these riders to reach the finish in top positions. Both are hoping for a career first – to be at the finish line of this epic, 9,000km trek through South America.British rider Sam Sunderland goes into the final stage (786 km in total, but just one final 64 km timed special) with a solid 33-minute lead over Matthias Walkner. Close behind him are two opponents in French rider Adrien Van Beveren and Spain’s Gerard Farres Guell (KTM) at 37.10 and 37.22 minutes behind the leader.Stage 11 took riders from Argentina’s San Juan to Rio Cuarto over 754 km, with a two-part timed special, the first over sand and the second, a high speed ride on hard surface through farming country. Knowing what is at stake, both Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner took no risks in the day’s ride on their KTM 450 RALLY bikes. Sunderland was fifth, 7:25 minutes behind the stage winner Paulo Goncalves. Walkner, the Austrian rider for the Austrian KTM brand was tenth, 10:33 minutes behind.
 
Sunderland, who has been in the lead for a number of days, acknowledged that it had been a lot of pressure. “When you are in the bivouac you can talk to people, but during the day you are alone on the bike for 14 hours and all kinds of things creep into your mind. It’s pretty heavy and it’s not easy to stay focused.” He said that stage had been very physical. “There was like 70 km of sand whoops in the first part but I feel pretty much at home in the sand, living in Dubai. I took it pretty easy but I managed to catch two or three guys in front of me so I knew my speed was still pretty good. The second part was really fast with lots of ruts. My buddy Matthias (Walkner) is fighting for second place. I passed him in the first part of the special but in the second part I didn’t want to make dust for him, so I let him through and followed him through to the finish. We’re here, we’re happy and we’ve got another day done. One more to go.”

While Sunderland was quick to acknowledge that ‘It’s not finished until it’s over’, he did say it would be a dream come true to take the win. “I’ve worked so hard and everybody in the team works so hard, it’s been an everyday challenge for me for the past 4-5 years. It’s a full time thing, I love it and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he added.Walkner was also pleased with his day’s ride, but knowing what is still ahead of him, was equally cautious about the possible result. “Today it was quite rough but not so many kilometers. It was sandy and bumpy in the beginning and I lost some time because I had some pain in my knee and couldn’t push so much. But the second part was on a fast piste and I felt better. I’m going to give it everything tomorrow, but you can lose as much in a short stage as you can in a long one so I have to stay concentrated. I will be happy if I arrive healthy in Buenos Aires and if I am on the podium, it would be perfect. But there’s still one more day and anything can happen.”Both Sunderland and Walkner, the new generation of Red Bull KTM factory riders after a long domination by former KTM factory riders Mark Coma and Cyril Despres, have fought back from injuries in previous editions of the Dakar.The third member of the KTM factory riders, Laia Sanz of Spain was 17th in the stage and is now at overall 15th and is on track to once again be the fastest woman rider. Sanz drew praise from Alex Doringer, KTM’s Division Manager Enduro and Rally, for her efforts. He said: “Laia has found her rhythm and she’s fighting like a maniac. What the lady does is just amazing.” Although she had mixed fortunes in the difficult first week, she now has the possibility of achieving her goal of a top 15 overall finish.

Sanz: “It was a good day, both hard and physical and a lot of sand, but I am happy with this second week because I am where I wanted to be at the start of the race – in the top 20 and without losing a lot of time. Last week I lost too much time so I wish the rally was a bit longer. Now I start to feel confident. But it’s like this and next year I will be faster. Today I was top 15 but it will be tough to finish tomorrow in that position because the guy behind me is fast and there are only two seconds between us.”

The riders start in reverse order on the final day so the best and fastest will be confronted with plenty of dust in their final dash to the Argentinian capital.

 

Stage 11 Results

1 BARREDA BORT JOAN (ESP) HONDA CRF450RALLY 03h16m57s
2 GONÇALVES PAULO (PRT) HONDA CRF450RALLY 03h18m47s +01m50s
3 VAN BEVEREN ADRIEN (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 03h22m25s +05m28s
4 FARRES GUELL GERARD (ESP) KTM 450 RALLY 03h24m51s +07m54s
5 SUNDERLAND SAM (GBR) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 03h26m12s +09m15s
6 RENET PIERRE ALEXANDRE (FRA) HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 03h26m49s +09m52s
7 METGE MICHAEL (FRA) HONDA CRF450RALLY 03h27m52s +10m55s
8 CAIMI FRANCO (ARG) HONDA CRF450 RALLY 03h29m08s +12m11s
9 SVITKO STEFAN (SVK) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 03h29m18s +12m21s
10 WALKNER MATTHIAS (AUT) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 03h29m20s +12m23s
11 PEDRERO GARCIA JUAN (ESP) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 03h30m54s +13m57s
12 METGE ADRIEN (FRA) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 03h32m33s +15m36s
13 RODRIGUES HELDER (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 03h35m33s +18m36s
14 RODRIGUES JOAQUIM (PRT) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 03h37m56s +20m59s
15 DUPLESSIS DIEGO MARTIN (ARG) KTM 450 RALLY EXC 03h38m09s +21m12s
16 KLYMCIW ONDREJ (CZE) HUSQVARNA HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 03h39m17s +22m20s
17 SANZ LAIA (ESP) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 03h41m36s +24m39s
18 REIS GONCALO (PRT) KTM 450 KTM RALLYE RAID 03h42m49s +25m52s
19 SALVATIERRA JUAN CARLOS (BOL) KTM 450 03h43m09s +26m12s
20 GYENES EMANUEL (ROU) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 03h45m34s +28m37s
50 CS SANTOSH (IND) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 04h28m34s +01h11m37s

 

OVERALL RESULTS

1 SUNDERLAND SAM (GBR) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 31h34m11s
2 WALKNER MATTHIAS (AUT) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 32h07m20s +33m09s
3 FARRES GUELL GERARD (ESP) KTM 450 RALLY 32h11m33s +37m22s
4 VAN BEVEREN ADRIEN (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 32h12m21s +38m10s
5 BARREDA BORT JOAN (ESP) HONDA CRF450RALLY 32h18m43s +44m32s
6 GONÇALVES PAULO (PRT) HONDA CRF450RALLY 32h26m57s +52m46s
7 RENET PIERRE ALEXANDRE (FRA) HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 32h30m12s +56m01s
8 CAIMI FRANCO (ARG) HONDA CRF450 RALLY 33h15m04s +01h40m53s
9 RODRIGUES HELDER (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 33h34m57s +02h00m46s
10 RODRIGUES JOAQUIM (PRT) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 33h50m17s +02h16m06s
11 SALVATIERRA JUAN CARLOS (BOL) KTM 450 33h55m46s +02h21m35s
12 KLYMCIW ONDREJ (CZE) HUSQVARNA HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 33h56m11s +02h22m00s
13 PEDRERO GARCIA JUAN (ESP) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 34h05m11s +02h31m00s
14 METGE MICHAEL (FRA) HONDA CRF450RALLY 34h11m24s +02h37m13s
15 SANZ LAIA (ESP) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 34h34m39s +03h00m28s
16 DUPLESSIS DIEGO MARTIN (ARG) KTM 450 RALLY EXC 34h34m41s +03h00m30s
17 PATRAO MÁRIO (PRT) KTM 450 RALLY 35h09m37s +03h35m26s
18 OLIVERAS CARRERAS DANIEL (ESP) KTM 450 35h14m50s +03h40m39s
19 GYENES EMANUEL (ROU) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 35h19m38s +03h45m27s
20 SMITH TODD (AUS) KTM 450 RR 35h19m42s +03h45m31s
23 METGE ADRIEN (FRA) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 35h50m14s +04h16m03s
48 CS SANTOSH (IND) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 41h20m37s +09h46m26s

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