The first experiment in the 48 Hours stage of the Dakar seems to have worked, given that it gave a shake-up to the rankings of the 2024 edition, although it will probably also invite the Race Direction to try to make some adjustments, especially with regards to the motorcycle category.
The big names on two wheels, in fact, completed over 500 of the 626 timed kilometers scheduled between yesterday and today on the first day and this left them with only 112 to complete in the second part of the stage. If we add to this that the top eight in the general classification all started close together and from the same bivouac, we found ourselves faced with a part of the race in which everyone paid attention to marking themselves and not making mistakes.
It is no coincidence that not much has changed in the top positions compared to the balance that had been drawn in the first part of the special, with Adrien van Beveren managing his leadership very well to achieve his first stage victory in this edition , which is also his fourth career Dakar. At the finish line in Shubataytah, the Honda rider preceded Toby Price's KTM by 4'13″, with the Australian thus certifying his position as the best rider of the Austrian brand in the general classification, in which he occupies fifth place with a delay of 27 minutes.
If you look at the overall classification of the race, however, this smiles above all on Ricky Brabec, who took the top spot thanks to third place in the stage, 5'02″ behind his sister Honda. The American has not yet won even a special stage this season. year, but arrives at the well-deserved day of rest looking down on everyone, even if his margin over his direct pursuer Ross Branch is just 51 seconds.
The Hero standard bearer was very regular in this first week of the race and was also out of trouble today, finishing the stage 9'40″ behind the winner. At the moment, however, he is quite surrounded by the Honda squadron in a race that is more open than ever, which with six stages to go sees the first three all enclosed in the space of just 9'21″. In fact, the gap of van Beveren, now third, has been reduced to this, who has also overtaken his teammate Nacho Cornejo, who now pays 14'14″ on Brabec after a not particularly brilliant 48 Hours stage, closed with 15'49″ of delay to which he also had to add a 6 minute penalty, effectively burning all the bonuses he had earned by opening the track yesterday.
Having said that Price's fifth place, the winner of the last edition, the Argentinian Kevin Benavides, is now in sixth place, just under half an hour behind, but he too has not particularly shone in these two days. Different story for those who follow him, namely Daniel Sanders, who with his GasGas was regularly in step with the best, finishing with the fourth fastest time and thus returning to seventh overall, just ahead of the Husqvarna of the reigning world champion, namely the 'another Benavides, Luciano. For him in the general there is also a 15 minute penalty, so it's starting to get hard to continue to believe in it with over 47 minutes of delay.
Unfortunately, from the list of possible candidates for victory we must exclude Pablo Quintanilla, who yesterday lost about an hour and a half when he ran out of fuel shortly before refueling. The Chilean has now fallen out of the top 10 overall and is traveling with a gap of more than two hours. Joan Barreda ended up definitively out instead. The Spaniard had started this two-day event in precarious physical conditions due to an accident that occurred in the fifth stage, but it was his Hero that generated his seventh retirement in 14 participations in the Dakar, which left him stranded with a mechanical problem at km 529, just fifteen or so after the restart this morning.
As for the Italians, we must record yet another good performance from Paolo Lucci, who with his KTM came close to reaching the top 10 of the stage, finishing with a gap of 41'54″. A result which led him to even occupy the 14th place overall. It's true that the top ten positions are about half an hour away, but with still a week of racing to go, it's still safe to dream.
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