Dakar 2018: Stage Six – Bolivia

Dakar 2018: Stage six - Bolivia 1

Antoine Meo wins today’s special

On the sixth day, the Dakar Rally moved from Peru to Bolivia swapping the fields of dunes for the fast courses in the Bolivian highlands. The altitude will give the competitors a new thing to worry about. The riders are constantly switching places in the front row, today’s leader Antoine Meo seems to feel in his element over the Bolivian trails.

The leader in the general rankings, Adrien van Beveren, started today’s special with a lead of one minute but something happened on the way and, he wasn’t able to defend his position. The altitude might have got in his way decreasing his chances for a victory today. Van Beveren has currently moved from the first to second place after finishing 10th, crossing the finish line 3m 12s slower than KTM rider A. Meo. The motorcycle category continuosly features big changes but the fight for victory will have to wait until Saturday. Tomorrow the riders will get a well deserved rest day.

34f46

The fight for the sixth stage victory was disputed from a checkpoint to another between Toby Price, Kevin Benavides and Antoine Meo. It was Red Bull KTM rider A. Meo that set the pace, in the end, crossing the finish line 30 seconds ahead of Price and Benavides.

With his second place today Kevin Benavides becomes the overall leader. The official Honda rider is currently the first in the time charts with a lead of almost two minutes over Yamaha rider Adrien van Beveren.

 

The big surprise of the day is Duplessis and Oliveras respectively fourth and fifth in today’s timed special. The top ten finish is so far their best performance in the Dakar Rally. Both Diego Martin Duplessis and Daniel Oliveras Carrera are privateer riders and, they seem to know their way around quick tracks

Stage six rankings

1.   A. MEO – KTM – 001:54:10

2.   K. BENAVIDE – SHONDA 001:54:40                    +00:00:30

3.   T. PRICE – KTM – 001:54:40                                 +00:00:30

4.   DM. DUPLESSIS – HONDA – 001:55:23               +00:01:13

5.   D. OLIVERAS CARRERAS – KTM – 001:56:05     +00:01:55

6.   P. QUINTANILLA – HUSQVARNA – 001:56:10       +00:02:00

7.   D. NOSIGLIA JAGER – KTM – 001:56:23               +00:02:13

8.   M. WALKNER – KTM – 001:57:16                          +00:03:06

9.   X. DE SOULTRAIT – YAMAHA – 001:57:22           +00:03:12

10. A. VAN BEVEREN – YAMAHA – 001:57:37            +00:03:27

 

General standings

1.   K. BENAVIDES – HONDA16:33:2

2.   A. VAN BEVEREN – YAMAHA – 16:35:17      +0:01:57

3.   M. WALKNER – KTM – 16:36:10                    + 0:02:50

4.   X. DE SOULTRAIT – YAMAHA – 16:42:44      +0:09:24

5.   J. BARREDA BORT – HONDA – 16:42:53      +0:09:33

6.   T. PRICE – KTM – 16:42:59                            +0:09:39

7.   A. MEO – KTM – 16:44:02                               +0:10:42

8.   P. QUINTANILLA – HUSQVARNA – 16:50:02  +0:16:42

9.   G. FARRES GUELL – KTM – 16:51:28            +0:18:08

10. S. SVITKO – KTM – 17:02:31                          +0:29:11

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *