2015 Dakar Rally Stage 10 ResultsThe second marathon stage of 2015 Dakar Rally – marathon meaning only riders themselves can work on their perspective machines at the conclusion of the day – took riders 554 miles from Calama, Chile, to Cachi, Argentina, with 231 of those miles timed.
And when the day was complete, Team HRC Honda’s Joan Barreda Bort redeemed some much-needed time following problems in the past two stages. The Spaniard dominated stage 10, taking his third victory of 2015 Dakar. It was also the sixth-stage win for Honda out of 10 stages so far, which is equal to the total wins Honda earned at 2014 Dakar Rally.Barreda finished the tenth stage 1:39 minutes ahead of his fellow countryman Marc Coma (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally) and 1:57 minutes ahead of Ruben Faria (KTM 450 Rally).“I think that today went really well, I got away to swift start on an easy day that didn’t require much navigation and never left the main path. It’s a real shame about what happened in the salt flats of Uyuni, because that’s where I said goodbye to any possibilities,” Barreda says, talking about his troubles in stage 9.“We were in the lead and with all the difficult work that we had done… But now I can only resign myself to it. We will be here for the last few days, supporting the team so that it gets the best result possible.”Though he finished first on Wednesday, Barreda’s troubles in stage 9 had a huge impact. He is now 15th overall, 1 hour 35 minutes behind the man who took the lead in stage 8 as he chases his fifth Dakar Rally victory – Coma.Following stage 10, Coma says focus is the main focus: “We have to fight many adverse situations but after so many days and despite the suffering, I am still enjoying it. That is what is great about this race. It makes you confront your limits and when you think you can’t do any more, you face them and move on.“Today’s stage was very hard and it was not easy to keep up a high pace. At first there was the altitude, and then a technical part that really tested us. I tried to keep up the same pace throughout the stage.”Coma’s lead keeps growing, and after 10 of 13 stages, he now leads Barreda Bort’s teammate Paulo Gonclaves, who finished stage 10 in fifth, by 7:35 minutes.“Today was a fast stage, with little difficulty in way of navigation. The track was a bit slippery at the beginning, you had to be careful. Soon there were four of us riding together,” Gonclaves says. “I think we rode well, saving our motorcycles, which was crucial because this evening’s a marathon stage. My motorcycle is ready for tomorrow already… and I’m ready to keep up the fight.”KTM-supported rider Pablo Quintanilla is third overall, trailing Coma by 31:42 minutes. Not too far behind in fourth is another KTM-supported rider, Toby Price, who trails Coma by 32:06 minutes.Stage 11 on Thursday will take riders 318 miles from Cachi to Termas Rio Honda, with 218 of those miles timed.2015 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Results:
