– Hero MotoSports Team Rally continued their impressive performance at the 2021 Dakar Rally and posted another Top-10 stage finish today.
This is the fifth top-10 stage finish for the team and the fourth for Joaquim Rodrigues. Riding like a man on a mission, he set the pace right from the start and rode with a good rhythm, in the relatively shorter Stage 10, to finish at 10th place.
His team mate Sebastian Buhler though had a more subdued stage after losing a lot of time in the beginning due to a navigation mistake. However, he regained his rhythm and focus quickly to win back some time in the latter part of the stage and finished at 21st place.
With only two more stages to go, the finish of the 2021 Dakar is in sight and Hero MotoSports Team Rally is eyeing a good result this year with Joaquim Rodrigues in 11th place and Sebastian Buhler in 16th place in the overall standings after 10 stages.
Stage 11, the penultimate stage of the rally, will offer the longest special with 511 kms to be done under the clock, taking the rally to the Yanbu region in Saudi Arabia.
Joaquim Rodrigues (Competitor #27) said, « It was a pretty fast and dangerous stage again today with a lot of rocks. I decided to focus more on navigation and it all went pretty well. I managed to ride at a good pace and did not commit any navigation mistakes. I am happy to finish the stage and get a good result for the team. »
Sebastian Buhler (Competitor #24) said, « I made a mistake in the beginning of the stage today that cost me a lot of time. But after that it went well as I began to feel good on the bike and got into a decent rhythm. Now only two days are left for the finish so it is important to concentrate harder and get a good result, but at the same time not take unnecessary risks as well. »
Provisional Rankings – Stage 10
1. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team, 03h 12m 33s
2. Joan Barreda Bort, Monster Energy Honda Team, +03m 15s
3. Kevin Benavides, Monster Energy Honda Team, +05m 11s
10. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +16m 24s
21. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +43m 31s…
Provisional Overall Rankings at the end of Stage 10
1. Kevin Benavides, Monster Energy Honda Team, 40h 20m 08s
2. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team, +51s
3. Sam Sunderland, RedBull KTM Factory Team, +10m 36s
11. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +01h 47m 52s
16. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +03h 30m 08s…