Due to heavy flooding, the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally was cancelled and the entire field traveled in a convoy into north-west Argentina.
Australian Toby Price is on the move. Currently sitting in fourth overall, only one-minute off a podium place and 7 minutes and 35 seconds behind the leader – Price is the one to watch over the next five stages.
Toby Price: “I’m looking forward to racing in Argentina again, from what we have had in previous years, I think it’s going to be quite difficult. There’s still a long way to go – a lot of kilometres left to race. I am happy with my pace, to be able to get this far so soon after coming back from injury is a real confidence boost. I’ll just keep on doing what I’ve been doing – taking each day as it comes – and hopefully I’ll be somewhere near at the finish.”
Australia’s second-top competitor Rodney Faggotter is currently just outside the top-20, which his eyes firmly on climbing the ladder.
Rodney Faggotter: “Following the cancellation of the special today, we rode in groups on the road. It was about 400km and we reached Salta early in the afternoon. The weather here in Argentina is a bit better and definitely more to my liking. It’s warmer and a bit dryer and that’s good for the coming days. We also got down to lower attitude and this is also a positive thing for the next days of the rally. We had a meeting with our team and made our plans for the rest of the rally. It is unfortunate that we lost Franco and Xavier, but Adrien is doing great so far. As for me, I want to continue my momentum and get back inside the top 20 in the overall. I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.”
Scott Britnell currently sits in 74th position outright on his Grit Adventures machine.
TOP 5 RESULTS
1. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 27:22:03
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 27:22:25 +0:22
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), 27:28:37 +6:34
4. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 27:29:38 +7:35
5. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 27:30:04 +8:01