For the rest of the year, Monster Energy Honda’s Joan Barreda will once again have to wonder “what if” when he looks back on the 2017 Dakar Rally.
Barreda rolled to his fourth stage win during Stage 11 today, but the one-hour time penalty incurred in Stage 4 pretty much destroyed the entire Monster Energy Honda team’s chances for a Dakar win, and Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland was all but crowned the 2017 Dakar Rally Champion after today’s stage. With a time advantage of over 33 minutes on second-placed Matthias Walkner, Sunderland enters tomnorrow’s 64-kilometer timed special with little worry that he will emerge victorious in the most prestigious off-road rally in the world.
The last long stage of the Dakar ran between San Juan and Río Cuarto Argentina, today, with 288 kilometeres of special. Yesterday’s stage winner, Barreda opened the road, but the Spanish rider was undeterred, and he went on to post a winning time of 3 hours, 16 minutes and 57 seconds. Teammate Paulo Gonçalves came through in second place, 1 minute and 50 seconds behind Barreda to give Honda another one-two stage finish.
“The stage was complicated at the start, and it was difficult to get going because there were lots of changes in direction in the middle of a lot of river beds that were full of rocks and stones,” Barreda said. “Avoiding any navigation mistakes was vital. I wasn’t doing too badly until one moment when things became very complicated, but then I caught up with Michael [Metge], and with him we followed the right directions on portions that were more or less off-piste. After that, the quick part was a little bit like the style of the Baja California. In the end, it was a nice stage.”
But the battle for the Dakar Rally podium isn’t over just yet, as Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren had a strong stage on his Yamalube Yamaha today, finishing third and drawing to within 48 seconds of overall third-place rider Gerard Farres.
“I did my best today to get back inside the top three in the overall,” Van Beveren said. “The first part of the timed special included lots of sandy dunes, and I felt really comfortable to push there. I got a pretty good race pace, but at some point I saw some people pointing me in the wrong direction. Luckily it took me just a few seconds to understand I was out of track, so I didn’t lose a lot of time. The second part of the special was different. It had some quite fast parts in the mountains. We were locked in a great battle for the top three with [Gerard] Farres today. Unfortunately I was handed a one minute penalty for speeding, and now I am less than a minute behind him in the overall. For tomorrow I want to keep the same momentum. I know I can be fast, but I also know I need to stay 100-percent concentrated on my navigation. It’s just a short stage, but I’ll do my best to get on the final podium.”
The 2017 Dakar Rally concludes tomorrow after a short, looping 64-kilometer special that starts and finishes from the Río Cuarto bivouac.
2017 Dakar Rally
San Juan, Argentina, to Rio Cuarto, Argentina
Results: January 13, 2017 (Stage 11 of 12)
Stage 11
1. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Monster Energy Honda/3 hours, 16 minutes, 57 seconds
2. Paul Goncalves (POR)-Monster Energy Honda/+00:01:50
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha/+00:05:28
4. Gerard Farres (ESP)-Himoinsa Team KTM/+00:07:54
5. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-Red Bull KTM/+00:09:15
6. Pela Renet (FRA)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna/+00:09:52
7. Michael Metge (FRA)-Monster Energy Honda/+00:10:55
8. Franco Caimi (ARG)-Honda South America/+00:12:11
9. Stefan Svitko (SLO)-Slovnaft Team KTM/+00:12:21
10. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM/+00:12:23
2017 Dakar Rally Overall Results (after 11 of 12 stages)
1. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-Red Bull KTM/31 hours, 34 minutes, 11 seconds
2. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM/+00:33:09
3. Gerard Farres (ESP)-Himoinsa Team KTM/+00:37:22
4. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha/+00:38:10
5. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Monster Energy Honda/+00:44:32
6. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Monster Energy Honda/+00:52:46
7. Pela Renet (FRA)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna/+00:56:01
8. Franco Caimi (ARG)-Honda South America/+01:40:53
9. Helder Rodrigues (POR)-Yamalube Yamaha/+02:00:46
10. Joaquim Rodrigues (POR)-Hero Motorsports/+02:20:53
Your Privacy Choices