The first stage of the 2024 Dakar was one of the hardest and most complex for the riders in the motorcycle category, and this was seen in the fatigue accumulated by the protagonists of the two wheels. One of the drivers who suffered the most from the demands of the special was Joan Barreda, who presented himself to the media, including Motorsport.com, barefoot and with a smile on his face, aware that he had done his duty.
“It was very tough, right from the start, with difficult navigation, sand and a bit of dust. Quite complicated, but from refueling onwards it was crazy,” explained the Spaniard. “I was really going in first and second gear, and I have the feeling that I wasn't the best on the bike, because I couldn't get on the gas, but when I tried, the bike started to jump from side to side in a very dangerous way” .
“In the end you have to go like this, looking for a compromise between going with a bit of pace and managing, but it's clear that crashing wouldn't have gone well,” admitted the rider from Torreblanca, who stopped to help Joaquim Rodrigues who retired in the first kilometers, so his position was temporary and they had to give him some time back.
“I think it was more than ten minutes,” said the Valencian rider after ensuring that he had achieved his goal of being among the fastest, waiting to know if he will be able to be in the fight. “Tomorrow will be another stage with many rocks, but we will try to be there to fight with the best. For me, in the end, there is a lot of work behind it, even if it has not been an easy year for me, with almost six months without being able to get on the motorbike.”
“Yesterday I got off on the wrong foot, I think it's one of the few, or the only time, that I messed up like that in a Prologue,” he said. “I've always been very focused and I've always been very good, but it's clear that these are short stages that aren't that important compared to special stages of this caliber.”
Right in those initial 27 kilometers he went down and lost some ground, but he was very natural and funny in recounting that setback in the Dakar Rally: “I missed the waypoint, and I saw that the arrow was going backwards, I turned around and nothing, I hung it up. Then there was a guy with a stopped car, watching the whole show, and I skidded, the bike moved away from me, he turned me around and It made me fly.”
“The airbag exploded and nothing. I got up on the bike, left from there and said goodbye, telling myself: 'Ok, the show is over, see you tomorrow'”, concluded Joan Barreda.
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