The Dakar said goodbye to an accommodating and vibrant Bolivia, and has moved on to Chile. Today saw the second leg of the marathon stage, in the area of Salar de Uyuni, which had been reduced in length by some twelve kilometres.
Joan Barreda, yesterday’s winner, set about cutting down the distance with the overall race leader, opening the way in the special, in a solitary ride in which we clocked up a total time of 2’10”, second only to Cyril Despres. Barreda has clawed back four seconds from Marc Coma in the overall standings.
Hélder Rodrigues, looking far more at ease in this stage, finished fourth some 6’44” behind the stage winner, and Javier Pizzolito ended the race in eighteenth.
Honda Argentina Rally Team’s accumulation of good stage results continues with Laia Sanz always in the top twenty at the various time checks, finishing fifteenth at the end of the day. Team-mate Pablo ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez finished in the top fifty.
Joan Barreda: It was a really long special today and I’m very pleased with the marathon. I was ahead, opening the way, pushing hard and forcing the pace to try and cause the others to make mistakes. It hasn’t happened yet, but we have done really well with a couple of great stages and I’m very satisfied with a job well done.
