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2017 Dakar Rally – Stage 3: Barreda Rises to the Top

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Stage 3 for the 2017 Dakar Rally was a beast – especially in the first 70 km- as temperatures ranged from scorching hot to freezing cold; the climate changed from dry desert to patches of mountain rain; and the day saw nearly 4,000 meters of elevation. So, it shouldn’t surprise to see a shake-up on the leaderboard.

As such, Joan Barreda and his Honda are now the combo to beat in this year’s Dakar Rally, the Spaniard pulling out a solid 10-minute gap on his nearest competitor, who is now KTM’s Sam Sunderland.

Navigation was crucial in today’s two-part 364km special, with the terrain offering a bevy of challenges, including the dreaded fesh-fesh.

Where is Toby Price you might be asking? After a mistake during the very difficult first waypoint of the timed section, Price finds himself down in fifth place, over 16 minutes back from Barreda overall.

Stage 3 was also tough on the factory Yamaha team, with Xaiver de Soultrait slipping out of the Top 5, all the way down to 13th overall, after making a series of costly mistakes early in the special.

Conversely, the day was slightly better for the factory Husqvarna riders, with Pablo Quintanilla making some mistakes, but still seeing his name rise in the rankings. He’s just over a minute outside of the Top 3 now.

Tomorrow sees the Dakar Rally entering Bolivia, with high-altitude sand dunes and plenty of over challenges awaiting them. Still, none of the top riders are out of contention for ultimate victory, but they have a tough road to redemption.

However, Joan Barreda must surely be enjoying the padding he’s just given himself. The test, of course, is to minimize mistakes, and more important nurture his machine all the way to the finish line in Buenos Aires in ten days’ time.

Top 15 from Stage 3 – San Miguel de Tucumán to San Salvador de Jujuy

Pos. Rider Nation Team Bike Time
1 BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda 4:23’41
2 SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +12’29
3 RENET Pierre-Alexandre FRA Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +15’30
4 QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +16’02
5 GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +16’20
6 VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +19’40
7 CAIMI Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda +20’09
8 FARRES Gerard SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +20’43
9 PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +21’51
10 BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +24’16
11 WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +25’40
12 SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM +26’41
13 METGE Michael FRA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +27’26
14 DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Viltais Racing Team HFP Yamaha +33’09
15 JAKES Ivan SLO Jakes Dakar Team KTM +33’39

Provisional Top 15 Overall Standings for the 2017 Dakar Rally

Pos. Rider Nation Team Bike Time
1 BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda 7:36’30
2 SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +10’20
3 GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +13’42
4 QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +14’56
5 PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +16’19
6 FARRES Gerard SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +22’00
7 VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +23’07
8 RENET Pierre-Alexandre FRA Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +23’07
9 BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +23’13
10 SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM +25’54
11 WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +27’47
12 CAIMI Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda +28’30
13 DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Viltais Racing Team HFP Yamaha +31’18
14 PEDRERO Joan SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +35’10
15 METGE Michael FRA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +38’22

Honda:

Yamaha:

Source: Dakar; Photos: HRC & Yamaha

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