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2017 Dakar Rally – Stage 11: Another One for Honda

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The penultimate stage of the 2017 Dakar Rally, Stage 11 was the last true opportunity for riders to make a run at the leaderboard, as Saturday’s stage involved only a 64km timed special.

With 286km of sand and dunes to navigate, it was once again the Honda riders that headed the pack. Leading from start to finish, Joan Barreda took his fourth stage victory (don’t let the Dakar video fool you with its lies), followed by his teammate Paulo Gonçalves, for another Honda one-two stage victory.

The result moved both Honda riders to well under their one-hour time penalty from early in the race, showing the strong pace and program that HRC has put together for the Dakar Rally.

Yamaha Racing too showed it promise, with Adrien van Beveren taking the third spot in the day’s honors. That result moves him, and Yamaha, closer to a podium in Buenos Aires (though not into third place yet, as the Dakar Rally video says).

Meanwhile at the top of the overall leaderboard, we saw the KTM riders doing a more conservative race, managing the half-hour gap to their would-be usurpers.

Sam Sunderland extended his lead by several minutes, finishing fourth for the day. With teammate Matthias Walkner finishing the day 10th, Sunderland extended his overall lead by several minutes.

Going into Buenos Aires, we don’t expect the overall order to change much. Though, we should warn, the Dakar is notorious for its sudden challenges.

Top 15 from Stage 11 – San Juan to Río Cuarto:

Pos. Rider Nation Team Bike Time
1 BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda 3:16’57
2 GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +1’50
3 VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +5’28
4 FARRES Gerard SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +7’54
5 SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +9’15
6 RENET Pierre-Alexandre FRA Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +9’52
7 METGE Michael FRA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +10’55
8 CAIMI Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda +12’11
9 SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM +12’21
10 WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +12’23
11 PEDRERO Joan SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +12’57
12 METGE Adrien FRA Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +15’36
13 RODRIGUES Helder POR Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +18’36
14 RODRIGUES Joaquim POR Hero Motorsports Team Rally Hero +20’59
15 DUPLESSIS Martín ARG Asistencia Med KTM +21’12

Provisional Top 15 Overall Standings for the 2017 Dakar Rally:

Pos. Rider Nation Team Bike Time
1 SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 31:34’11
2 WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +33’09
3 FARRES Gerard SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +37’22
4 VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +38’10
5 BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +44’32
6 GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +52’46
7 RENET Pierre-Alexandre FRA Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +56’01
8 CAIMI Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda +1:40’53
9 RODRIGUES Helder POR Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +2:00’46
10 RODRIGUES Joaquim POR Hero Motorsports Team Rally Hero +2:20’53
11 SALVATIERRA Juan Carlos BOL Duust Rally Team KTM +2:21’35
12 KLYMCIW Ondrej CZE Klymciw Racing Husqvarna +2:22:00
13 PEDRERO Joan SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +2:31:00
14 METGE Michael FRA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +2:37’13
15 SANZ Laia SPA KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +3:00’30

Honda:

Husqvarna:

KTM:

Yamaha Racing:

Source: Dakar; Photos: Honda, Husqvarna, KTM, & Yamaha Racing

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