The five Team HRC riders spent New Year’s Day relaxing before taking up the great challenge tomorrow that is the 2016 Dakar Rally. There was nothing on the agenda bar the preparation of the first stages which are expected to be complicated due to the presence of rain in and around the city of Buenos Aires. Likewise, storms are expected over the early stages, especially in the opener from Rosario to Villa Carlos Paz. Changes in the race route look increasingly likely too.
Tomorrow, 2nd January, sees the curtain raising event set off from the Buenos Aires’ Tecnopolis complex. The starting order will be a reversal of the rider’s numbers, meaning that last year’s runner up, Team HRC’s Paulo Gonçalves from Portugal, will be the last rider to take the starting line. It is expected that by 17:00, local time, all the participants in the bike category should have completed the prologue in the Arrecifes area to the north of the Argentine capital. The prologue will dictate the starting positions for the first full stage of the Dakar 2016 and will establish the race’s first leader.
TOMORROW’ STAGE 2016
January 2.
Prologue: Buenos Aires – Rosario
Special section: 11 km
Total: 346 km
THE FIFTEEN MINUTE WARM-UP
The competitors are timed over a distance which is long enough to separate them into a logical starting order for the next day, but not really long enough to talk about a first day of competition. The mini-special section and the liaison section to the light bivouac of Rosario should not cause any damage… unless drivers are really unlucky and/or reckless!
