– Oriol Mena delivers another stellar performance to finish 9th
– Comeback man Joaquim Rodrigues finishes in Top 20 with 17th position.
It was a bright and sunny morning as the final stage of the Dakar 2019 went underway in Pisco. The short 112km stage offered one final round on the dunes of Pisco.
The dune-heavy 112 km special kept the leaders on their toes, including those with a comfortable lead, as well as providing competitors who still want to move up the general classification with the perfect terrain for aggressive riding and big gaps.
For Hero MotoSports Team Rally, it marked a glorious day as the team secured its second back to back Top 10 finish at the Dakar Rally and a 100% arrival without any technical failure 3rd time in a row. On a technical level, the bikes have performed with absolute reliability, giving the riders supreme confidence and an extra edge, even over some of the other more experienced factory teams.
Today’s stage was all about bringing the bike home safely across the finish line at Pisco, which was achieved perfectly by Joaquim Rodrigues and Oriol Mena as they finished the stage in 12th and 17th positions respectively. At an overall level, today’s stage results, place Oriol Mena at 9th position and JRod at 17th position in the final standings of the Dakar 2019, bringing in a Top 10 and a Top 20 finish in the toughest rally race on the planet.
It was an overall superlative show put on by Spaniard Oriol Mena throughout the Dakar 2019. His sporting acumen and superb temperament was at the display once again as he got through the stages in a near flawless fashion while some of the more experienced and exalted peers faltered now and then. After this performance, Mena’s reputation will progress leaps and bounds from being the “Best Rookie of the Dakar