Dakar stage 3 Riders’ comments
Le dichiarazioni a caldo dei maggiori protagonisti della Dakar al termine della difficoltosa terza tappa di ieri.
Ricky Babrec (Monster Energy Honda Team #9). “Today was actually really fun. The train was really epic. There were a lot of rocks, lots of stones, a lot of sand, and a lot of tricky navigation. It was really fast, which is what I really prefer. I had a good starting position today. I started a little bit back in twelfth position. I didn’t have too much dust. I past the first rider at kilometre 20. I knew today I could push. It was difficult. Every note that I thought was difficult I slowed down and took my time. I was pushing all day. We had three short specials. I was riding really well and I felt really good today. The roadbook is really good. The information here is really, really nice here. Tomorrow will be tricky. It’s always difficult opening because you have all the riders pushing behind you”.
José Ignacio Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda Team #17). “It went well today. It was a long stage, but an entertaining and complicated one. There were some very complicate areas for the navigation. It went well with a good pace, without making any mistakes but clocking up good partial times. In general, it was a very good day. I moved up a few positions in the overall standings. I felt really good and was comfortable with the bike. So I’m very pleased with the performance”.
Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda Team #7). “Today was a very nice stage, but a complicated one for the navigation. I started from fourth place. I caught up with the riders ahead and after I separated from the group and then I opened the way. I had a problem with one of the waypoints at kilometre 392. The roadbook was correct but the waypoint wasn’t there. I arrived there before all the other riders so I lost more time. After that the other riders arrived and we rode together in a group. Nevertheless, I’m very happy with the job done today. I felt very good on the bike. The navigation went really well. I will keep pushing ahead”.
Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda Team #12). “It was a really tough stage with a lot of hours on the bike. I tried to keep cool-headed throughout as there were a few critical moments especially as far as the navigation was concerned. I’m very glad to have made it to the finish line without making any mistakes. So now we can start focusing on tomorrow’s stage. Everything has gone well for the team so far, but the tough rallying has barely begun”.
Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team #2). “I rode well today so I’m happy about that and the bike is performing really well too, which is great. Right from the start today, navigation was really tricky and you have to concentrate on the road book a lot. I came close to hitting some big rocks hidden in the sand today – it’s difficult to find the right balance between maintaining good speed and the navigation. The missing waypoint caught everyone out so that caused some issues toward the end of the stage. All-in-all I feel good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team #1). “It’s been a tough day, but not too bad. Things were going well in the morning – a few mistakes here and there but nothing too bad. I just tried to stay on two wheels, ride safe and bring it home. Obviously the issue towards the end threw us all a bit, but it’s nice that the organisers acknowledged that quickly and rectified the results. The stage was really beautiful – lots of canyons and camels – I’m feeling good and keen to get going again tomorrow.”
Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team #16). “It was a tricky day today, I felt good for the first half and only made one small mistake. The bike is feeling really good here in Saudi Arabia, we have it set up very well for the changes in terrain and that helps to give me a little more confidence. Unfortunately, when everyone got lost with the missing waypoint a stone flew up from another rider and hit my hand – I’m hoping it’s not too badly hurt and I’m ok for tomorrow.”
Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team #3). “The stage didn’t start too well for me as I had a small issue with my GPS, but after that I was able to push on and made my way to the front. I think I did a good job of opening the stage and didn’t make too many mistakes. After the refuelling I was the first to come across the missing waypoint and struggled for a long time to work it out, the other riders caught me there and it was a bit chaotic until we worked it out. Thankfully, that has all been sorted now and I can concentrate on winning back some time tomorrow.”
Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing #5). “It was a long, tough stage today. Early on I reached another rider who had crashed, so I stayed with him until he felt better. After something like that it’s always difficult to find your rhythm again but after a while I started to make good progress. Things were going well up until the refuelling but then we all struggled with the missing waypoint on the way to the finish. Overall, I’m happy with how I rode and it’s still only day three, so there’s a long way to go.”
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