Arana and Pain are top Yamahas as Storm hits Tenth Stage of Dakar

For the second marathon stage of the 2015 Dakar, the remaining competitors had to make another high-altitude crossing of the Andes before tackling a 371 kilometre special. The route was mostly over hard-packed ground and directly followed by 135 kilometres of liaison to take them to their bivouac.

Olivier Pain finished today’s special 15’37 behind the leader, with Frans Verhoeven not far behind in 19th (at 17’10). Olivier preserves his 10th place overall, while fellow Yamaha mounted Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait finished 22nd and holds on to his 13th place overall. Spanish Yamaha rider Juan Pedrero’s run of bad luck continued. The latest news is that he had a stand still on the special, but still managed to finish in 71st place.

Frans Verhoeven

In the quad category it was Nelson Sanabria who excelled in the treacherous conditions. The Paraguayan rider came in first, completing the stage in just under five hours, with 18 year old Jeremias González Ferioli on his heels (at 03’40). As Ignacio Casale withdrew at CP1, the Argentinian youngster moved up the overall standings, directly behind provisional leader and fellow Yamaha Raptor 700 rider Rafal Sonik (at 2h51’39).

Having arrived at the bivouac, the riders are now once again deprived of their assistance crews. Tonight they will have to carry out their own repairs before tackling the second leg of this marathon stage. Tomorrow the riders will head to Termas Rio Hondo and cover a total of 523 kilometres, including two specials, the first one measuring 157 kilometres and the second adding another 142 kilometres.

Extreme weather conditions have hit the Dakar’s headquarters in Salta this evening and blacked out TV broadcasts in the process. The heavy storm has made it impossible to talk directly to the riders.

Dakar Rally 2015 Stage 10: Calama to Salta

1. Joan Barreda Bort, ESP (Honda) 04:07:11

2. Marc Coma, ESP (KTM) 04:08:50

3. Ruben Faria, PRT (KTM) 04:09:08

4. Toby Price, AUS (KTM) 04:09:25

5. Paulo Gonçalves, PRT (Honda) 04:10:57

6. Stefan Svitko, SVK (KTM) 04:13:33

7. Helder Rodrigues, PRT (Honda) 04:13:37

8. Pablo Quintanilla, CHL (KTM) 04:13:40

9. Ivan Jakes, SVK (KTM) 04:16:10

10. Hans Vogels, NLD (KTM) 04:17:30

11. David Casteu, FRA (KTM) 04:18:38

12. Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert, ESP (Honda) 04:19:13

13. Jeremias Israel Esquerre, CHL (Honda) 04:20:55

14. Alain Duclos, FRA (Sherco TVS) 04:20:56

15. Txomin Arana Cobeaga, ESP (Yamaha) 04:22:42

16. Olivier Pain, FRA (Yamaha) 04:22:48

19. Frans Verhoeven, NLD (Yamaha)04:24:21

22. Xavier De Soultrait, FRA (Yamaha) 04:29:20

71. Juan Pedrero, ESP (Yamaha) 06:00:50

Dakar Rally 2015: Overall Ranking

1. Marc Coma, ESP (KTM) 38:13:50

2. Paulo Gonçalves, PRT (Honda) 38:21:25

3. Pablo Quintanilla, CHL (KTM) 38:45:32

4. Toby Price, AUS (KTM) 38:45:56

5. Stefan Svitko, SVK (KTM) 38:59:09

6. David Casteu, FRA (KTM) 39:55:04

7. Ruben Faria, PRT (KTM) 39:55:30

8. Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert, ESP (Honda) 40:18:50

9. Ivan Jakes, SVK (KTM) 40:39:41

10. Olivier Pain, FRA (Yamaha) 41:04:01

11. Hans Vogels, NLD (KTM) 41:35:26

12. Helder Rodrigues, PRT (Honda) 41:36:44

13. Xavier De Soultrait, FRA (Yamaha) 42:13:07

14. Paolo Ceci, ITA (KTM) 42:46:40

15. Joan Barreda Bort, ESP (Honda) 42:51:02

16. Txomin Arana Cobeaga, ESP (Yamaha) 42:51:09

18. Frans Verhoeven, NLD (Yamaha) 43:17:11

19. Juan Pedrero, ESP (Yamaha) 43:52:51

Source yamaha-racing.com