Dakar Stage 9: Price widens lead, Sainz wins again
While Price set a searing pace to claim his fifth stage victory aboard his KTM, Paulo Goncalves' challenge for victory has all but ended when a branch pierced his Honda's radiator halfway through the test.
Exacerbating Goncalves' woes is that, as it is the first leg of a marathon stage, his bike can't be repaired by his crew nor does he have access to spare parts to repair his bike.
Goncalves wasn't the only rider to strike trouble in hot temperatures – touching 50 degrees in some parts – amid the dunes on the 285 kilometer test in the deserts outside of Belem in Argentina.
In the car category Peugeot's Carlos Sainz took command of the overall rally lead, benefiting from a conservative run from teammate Stephane Peterhansel.
MOTORCYCLE CLASS
ALTHOUGH the stage was called before some riders had made it past the first checkpoint, the overall winner of the ninth test was beyond doubt.
Price had already put the boot to the field.
He held a seven-minute advantage over Honda's final hope Kevin Benavides, second fastest on the stage, and 10 over third-quickest Stefan Svitko.
Price was the only rider to make it to the finish of the competitive section before the stage was truncated and had looked poised to extend his lead even further.
“We've got through pretty good," Price said.
“We made a couple of little mistakes around the 100 kilometer mark. We got a little bit lost but luckily we found the way point and got ourselves back on track and going again. Other than that, we've had a fairly decent day, a fairly solid day.
“It was just good that we didn't get lost. It was definitely tricky navigation today. I still feel solid, I still feel really good. It's definitely hot right now at the moment, but we'll suit up again, get going, get some air flowing and it shouldn't be too bad."
Toby Price Source: Supplied
The result leaves Price's overall lead at almost 25 minutes over Svitko with four stages remaining.
However, Goncalves' plight highlights that Price's own hopes of victory could still easily be undone by just one small mechanical problem or riding mistake.
It's a fact Price is acutely aware of.
“It's job done today, but everyone's got lucky since we've stopped at CP1 and CP2," he said.
“The bike seems really good, really strong and still going really well. The mechanics have done a really good job over the lead-up to the race and during the event. I think we're cruising along alright, so we can't complain."
Goncalves struck more problems on Stage 9. Source: Supplied
Goncalves hopes of the overall win look to be toast, the holed radiator believed to have caused engine damage to his Honda, the Portuguese rider getting towed to the stage finish by one of his teammates.
With no crew or parts available, he is expected to take the engine from the bike of Honda teammate Michael Metge or Paolo Ceci.
However, the stoppage means Goncalves will be given a nominal time. What it will be has yet to be confirmed at the time of writing, but it's a value that his – and Honda's – hopes of overall victory hinge on.
DAKAR RALLY 2016 – OVERALL STANDINGS after Stage 9
1. Toby Price (KTM) 29h53m30s
2. Stefan Svitko (KTM) +24m47s
3. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) +32m14s
4. Kevin Benavides (Honda) +33m05s
5. Antoine Meo (KTM) +40m37s
6. Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) +46m51s
7. Gerard Farres (KTM) +52m10s
8. Ricky Brabec (Honda) +1h02m42s
9. Adrien van Beveren (Yamaha) +1h08m10s
10. Alessandro Botturi (Yamaha) +1h17m17s
CAR CLASS
Sainz charged into the lead on Stage 9. Source: AP
WHAT a difference a week can make. From a dismal start, Carlos Sainz now looks to be Peugeot's best hope of taking overall victory.
Though he scored only a narrow stage win over the Minis of Erik van Loon and Mikko Hirvonen, he beat home Peugeot teammate Stephane Peterhansel by over nine minutes to move into a seven-minute lead in the overall standings.
“The stage was really difficult," Sainz said.
“There was a lot of off-piste and off-road. It was very soft as well. There was a lot of vegetation so we had to go over the vegetation. It was difficult to follow all the tracks and everything.
“We had to stop two times because we were stuck in the sand, but it's all good."
2015 winner Nasser Al-Attiyah slipped to fifth on the stage after leading through the opening checkpoint, happy to finally be on terrain that brings his Mini back onto the same level as the Peugeots.
“Of course I'm disappointed because the Dakar started from yesterday," he said. “Yesterday there was a lot of navigation and sand dunes and rivers. Today it was a really hard day for everybody.
“We had two flat tires and we had to stop to clean the front cooling system. I'm quite happy because now we are catching Peugeot and we'll try to continue like this."
Al-Attiyah charges through the sand on Stage 9. Source: AP
The Peugeot crew had a busy night prior to the test, rebuilding Loeb's shattered car after his crash the day before. He lost a further hour on the stage after getting stuck in the sand, slipping to 13th overall.
All-Australian combo Peter Jerie and Dale Moscatt continued to climb the standings with a steady run to 47th on the stage lifting them to 31st overall.
Stage 10 will see the top 10 runners in both the car and motorcycle classes leave the starting line at the same time.
With no tracks from the motorcycle runners to follow, Sainz expects it to pose a tough navigational test on an already tough stage.
“I think Fiambala is one of the most difficult stages," he said.
“The fact that the motorbikes are not going to open the road for us means that probably we will have absolutely no marks.
“It's going to be a difficult day, but somebody has to open the way."
DAKAR RALLY 2016 – OVERALL STANDINGS after Stage 9
1. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Peugeot) 28h39m24s
2. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean Paul Cottret (Peugeot) +7m03s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (Mini) +14m38s
4. Mikko Hirvonen/Michel Perin (Mini) +34m50s
5. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (Toyota) +53m18s
6. Yazeed Alrajhi/Timo Gottschalk (Toyota) +1h01m48s
7. Leeroy Poulter/Robert Howie (Toyota) +1h03m25s
8. Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (Mini) +1h28m05s
9. Nani Roma/Alex Haro Bravo (Mini) +1h42m55s
10. Cyril Despres/David Castera (Peugeot) +1h51m30s
31. Peter Jerie/Dale Moscatt (Toyota) +9h51m25s Fox Sports