The first special of this Dakar was won by a rampant Joan Barreda in Adrenarena de Paracas, near Pisco. But it wasn’t just Joan who shone in the Monster Energy Honda Team: Ricky Brabec posted third after an outstanding ride in the dunes with Benavides, Cornejo and Gonçalves occuping notable positions.
Day one, en route from the Peruvian capital Lima to the bivouac located around the city of Pisco, consisted of a total of 332 kilometres of stage, with only 84 km against the clock was enough to set up the first official race leader board of the 2019 edition of the Dakar Rally. 80% of the route took place in the dunes, on a stage which covered some dried up river beds that were navigationally more demanding. Nevertheless, all the members of the Monster Energy Honda Team riders were able to overcome the hazards successfully.
Temperature soared as the sun beat down onto the dunes of Adrenarena, yet despite this, Joan Barreda was scorching too clocking up a great time of 57’36