After completing the 126 km of the last stage and arriving in the capital of Chile, it has happened again. Laia Sanz (92nd) has managed to finish the Dakar for the third time in a row and be the only woman to do so, which crowns her the winner in the women’s category.
Laia’s success is also that of the entire Gas Gas Dakar Team, as the three riders participating with the new Gas Gas EC 450 Raid have managed to finish the toughest race in the world. Marc Guasch – who last year had a serious accident and had to retire – and Miguel Puertas – who was making his debut as a backpacker for an official brand – have completed the perfect debut of the model created in the factory in Salt, Girona.
Gassed, In the last four months, Laia Sanz has won her twelfth trial world championship, the first enduro world championship and the Dakar in the women’s category. The multi-time champion has shown her perseverance, talent and winning mentality in the toughest edition since her debut in 2011. The Gas Gas rider arrived at the rest day achieving her best partial result (13th) and was in 29th position overall, despite a couple of crashes that bruised her hands.
But midway through the ninth stage she had to be towed by her backpacker Miguel Puertas for more than 300 km and arrived at 5 in the morning in an unforgettable feat. With a new engine and only an hour and a half of rest, they faced the next stage of more than 600 km, which also took longer. Laia and Miguel made a perfect heroic tandem and the Gas Gas team never gave up to take the queen of the Dakar to get the 3 out of 3 and Miguel (114th) could complete his eighth consecutive participation.
Marc Guasch (27th) has also fulfilled his main objective and the one he has worked so hard for all year: to finish the Dakar. Since the beginning of the adventure, Marc has always taken care of the mechanics of his bike and has even tried different set-ups to further improve the Gas Gas EC 450 Raid. With a conservative tactic based on perseverance and reliability, the Gas Gas rider has managed to enter the top 30 and be the third best Spaniard,including a great comeback after suffering a heavy fall in the penultimate stage that left him ‘touched’.
In the end, each and every one of the members of the Gas Gas team passionately experienced a particularly tough Dakar to complete the nearly 8,500 km. The success in the toughest rally raid in the world joins those achieved by Gas Gas in trial and enduro.
Laia Sanz: My goal this year was to finish in the top 30. I didn’t make it because of the problem I had in the ninth stage, but I feel very proud. I think I rode and sailed very well, I didn’t make any mistakes throughout the race. And I’m very happy with the work that the whole team has done and with the performance of the bike. I could have finished between 20th and 25th, but in this race things happen to everyone, so for next year we have to try not to have any serious setbacks and continue to do the job well.”
STAGE 14 CLASSIFICATION
1. Francisco “Chaleco” López 1h:42’37”
2. Ruben Faria +00’29”
3. Joan Barreda +00’37”
4. Helder Rodrigues +00’53”
5. Joan Pedrero +01’25”
…
29. MARC GUASCH +10’03”
56. LAIA SANZ +18’17”
80. MIGUEL PUERTAS +22’32”
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Cyril Despres 43h:24’22”
2. Ruben Faria +10’43”
3. Francisco “Chaleco” López +18’48”
4. Ivan Jakes +23’54”
5. Joan Pedrero +55’29”
…
27. MARC GUASCH +05h26’46”
92. LAIA SANZ +18h24’37”
114. MIGUEL PUERTAS +28h14’31”
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