Dakar 2014 Stage 10 Motorcycle Results | Barreda on Top Again

2014 Dakar | Team HRC Honda’s Joan Barreda Wins Stage 10

Team HRC Honda’s Joan Barreda Bort returned to the top of the results for the fourth time in Dakar 2014.

The Spaniard piloted his Honda CRF 450 Rally with precision through some extremely sandy conditions, eventually finishing first, 7 minutes 42 seconds ahead of teammate Helder Rodrigues.

Finishing up front once again was Red Bull Yamaha’s Cyril Despres, the five-time Dakar winner third, 9 minutes 26 seconds behind Barreda.

Though he finished fifth, 11 minutes 12 seconds behind, Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma retains the overall lead by 44 minutes 10 minutes ahead of Barreda. Coma won his second stage of 2014 Dakar on Monday; to read the stage 9 results, click here.

Following is from the official Dakar report:

“Yesterday’s 15-minute penalty for speeding has not shaken Joan Barreda’s belief in his chances of winning, as he showed in the 688 km stage 10 from Iquique to Antofagasta. The Honda rider, who had started the first of today’s two specials in tenth place, used his ideal position on the course to follow the tracks of the preceding riders and really hit the gas throughout the stage.

“By the end of the day he had overtaken six motorcycles on the course and taken his ninth Dakar win, 8’00″ ahead of Portuguese teammate Hélder Rodrigues and 9’40″ ahead of Cyril Despres. The defending champion was second off the start line and quickly caught up with yesterday’s winner Marc Coma. It was the perfect wheel for the overall leader to follow, who limited himself to following his former “best enemy” to ride at a high pace but without taking risks and post the fifth best time in today’s stage, 11’26″ behind Barreda.

“No reason for Coma to panic, as he still commands a 44’10″ lead over Barreda and a margin of over 2 h over his lieutenant Jordi Viladoms, who was also handed a 15-minute penalty yesterday, albeit for an engine change. While Cyril Despres continues to move up the pecking order and now sits in sixth place, today’s bad news came from Chile’s Jeremías Israel Esquerre, who had to drop out due to a fall, relinquishing his fourth place in the general classification to Olivier Pain, fourth today. The battle for the bottom step of the podium promises to be an epic one, with Pain, Rodrigues, Despres and Poland’s Przygoński within just 13’03.”

Check out the stage-10 action during the “Dakar Rally Series,” which will air on NBC Sports Network at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16.

For a preview including the entire Dakar 2014 schedule, click here.

2014 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Quotes:

Marc Coma (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally) says: “Cyril was going quite well and I tried to follow him. We swapped places to maintain a high pace. It wasn’t an easy day. It was a long day. Nothing’s certain yet. We’ve still got to tackle the dunes of Copiapó.

“The day after that will be tough too. We’ve still got very difficult days ahead, anything can happen. We’ll see. Sure, everything’s gone well so far, but anything can happen. The slightest mistake can cost you loads of time.”

Joan Barreda Bort (Team HRC Honda CRF 450 Rally) says: “It’s not easy to win four stages. I’m happy because it followed the trend of the rally so far, with a nice feeling, lots of speed and good navigation. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

“It’ll be difficult again because there’ll be lots of kilometers and the dunes of Copiapó. The day after that will also be tough. We’ll see, we’re getting closer. Nothing is lost yet. Marc [Coma] has a sizeable lead, but anything can happen.”

Helder Rodrigues (Team HRC Honda CRF 450 Rally) says: “It was a very good day. I pulled out all the stops because I knew I can still climb a few places in the general classification. A rider dropped out today, and there’s still lots of space for things to happen. I’m going very fast right now, I caught up with the leaders and kept up with them, everything’s going smoothly now.”

Cyril Despres (Red Bull Yamaha YZF 450 Rally) says: “It was lots of fun. It was a maze this morning, what with all the dunes and valleys. I came across Marc at km 14, I think he wanted me to get in front to open the course. We ended up riding together all day long and the rest never caught up with us. We laughed ourselves silly a short while ago: we turned too early and ended up in a canyon, so we had to go up a long climb to get back on track.

“He managed to do it in one go, but I came up ten meters short! It was quite fun… We went fast, which is good for me, in the overall. This moves me back up the classification, I don’t know how far I’ll get, but I’m trying.”

2014 Dakar Rally | A Look Ahead to Stage 11

Stage 11, which features the longest timed special, will take riders 465 miles from Antofagasta to El Salvador, Chile, (89-mile liaison, 376-mile special).

2014 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Results:

2014 Dakar Rally Overall Rankings (after 10 of 13 stages):

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