As the Dakar progresses, Laia Sanz is becoming more comfortable on her Gas Gas. The Spanish rider faced the third stage at 14:54 Spanish time, made up of 563 kilometres of which 270 were special timed, starting in position 56 and gaining 24 positions at the start.
This has allowed Laia to ride more comfortably and in less dust. Today’s stage was very technical, with big changes in altitude and crossings of watercourses, an advantage for a rider forged in a specialty like Trial.
Finally, Laia Sanz set her best time so far in Dakar 2012, entering in 35th position, 42.48″ behind Després. This result catapults him to 38th place in the general standings, improving 18 positions compared to the previous day.
Laia Sanz: “I started very late, in the middle of the dust cloud of the quads, which I couldn’t overtake because of the narrowness of the track. However, shortly after the refuelling we reached a very technical and complicated river, in which most of the riders had a lot of problems to move forward. At that moment I said to myself: This is mine!, and I used the trial technique to overtake about twenty riders and start to gain distance”.
Laia Sanz after the penalty: “40 minutes penalty for jumping a waypoint for me and about twenty riders. What had started very well, is now tarnished. Some have been mysteriously saved. At least I think they’ll let me start 35th at the start… If not, swallow dust again.”
Last minute: Laia Sanz penalized with 40 minutes in this third stage. She sinks in the stage to 69th and 57th position in the general classification. More info coming soon.
THIS WAS THE THIRD STAGE OF THE 2012 DAKAR ON MOTORCYCLES
Stress tests also don’t forgive the lack of meticulousness. On the Dakar, it was clear today with Cyril Despres, who climbs to the top of the general classification and wins the stage for showing lucidity. In the results, his duel with Marc Coma looked like a game of ping-pong: a 20-inch lead for the Frenchman at CP1, then a 14-inch lead for the Spaniard at km 117. Everything pointed to a hard-fought victory. However, it’s never easy to open the track. At a fork in the road between the route for motorcycles and the one for cars, after 164 kilometres of racing, Coma chose the wrong path and travelled almost 4 kilometres on the car track. Despite his efforts to try to make up for the delay, the half-turn he had to make cost him 13 minutes at the finish. After this 27th stage victory, Cyril Despres leads the rally with a 10.12 advantage over his most faithful rival.
The brave opponents of Coma and Despres must once again surrender to the evidence that an abyss separates them. At last Frans Verhoeven takes second place in the special. Although the performance of the new Sherco he rides seems encouraging, the Dutchman is 8’37 behind, while Paulo Gonçalves is only 2 seconds behind. Above all, the lesson of tranquility and dominance, two indispensable qualities in the Dakar, is learned the hard way by two aspirants to the podium who are forced to say goodbye to the rally through the small door; with his assistance truck, in the case of Jakub Przygonsky, due to an engine failure at km 68; with the medical helicopter, in the case of Quinn Cody, who starts with a broken collarbone after a spectacular crash at km 173 of the special.
BACK TO MAIN PAGE DAKAR LAIA SANZ 2012
{bonckowall source=”2″ pkey=”album” pvalue=”104487400570604964457″ pvalue2=”Dakar2012″ }{/bonckowall}
