2017 Dakar Rally - Stage 6: Cancelled

Weather has been pounding drought-stricken Bolivia recently, adding a further difficulty to the 2017 Dakar Rally. After seeing Stage 5 shortened because of the weather, Stage 6 was cancelled outright.

The ASO issued the following statement about the cancellation: “Considering the extreme climatic conditions and that some drivers are still on the stage course, considering that is impossible to bring the vehicles of all participants back to the bivouac and prepare the next stage in the best conditions, and considering that people of the organisation in charge of the reco of tomorrow’s stage course informed that the road is unpracticable, the 6th stage (ORURO-LA PAZ) has been cancelled.”

Stage 6 was supposed to be the longest day for Dakar competitors, with a planned 527km timed special section. That’s obviously no longer the case, with teams instead traveling by road via the liaison route – effectively giving Dakar racers the weekend off, with Sunday already scheduled to be a break from competition.

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	15:22’05
2	QUINTANILLA Pablo	CHI	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+12’00
3	VAN BEVEREN Adrien	FRA	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+16’07
4	FARRES Gerard	SPA	Himoinsa Team	KTM	+20’57
5	WALKNER Matthias	AUT	Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team	KTM	+29:01
6	DE SOULTRAIT Xavier	FRA	Viltais Racing Team HFP	Yamaha	+36’06
7	SVITKO Stefan	SLO	Slovnaft Team	KTM	+48’43
8	RENET Pierre-Alexandre	FRA	Husqvarna Factory Rally Team	Husqvarna	+54’45
9	DUPLESSIS Martín	ARG	Asistencia Med	KTM	+1:04’55
10	GONCALVES Paulo	POR	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+1:08’21
11	RODRIGUES Joaquim	POR	Hero Motorsports Team Rally	Hero	+1:10’20
12	BARREDA Joan	SPA	Monster Energy Honda Team	Honda	+1:12’39
13	RODRIGUES Helder	POR	Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team	Yamaha	+1:23’38
14	CAIMI Franco	ARG	Honda South America Rally Team	Honda	+1:27’10
15	KLYMCIW Ondrej	CZE	Klymciw Racing	Husqvarna	+1:36’22