Der britische Rider kämpfte hart mit der KTM 450 RALLY, um seine verlorene Zeit wieder aufzuholen. Doch die Tatsache, dass Pablo Quintanilla, Sam Sunderlands nächstliegender Konkurrent, der wegen Krankheit am Ruhestand war, erlaubte ihm somit den Tag mit einem Vorteil von 30 Minuten zu beenden. Zweiter ist nun sein österreichischer Teamkollege, Matthias Walkner, mit dem spanischen KTM-Fahrer Gerard Farres Güell auf dem dritten Platz. 38:43 Minuten vor der Führungsszeit.
Sieger war Spaniens Joan Barreda mit Stefan Svitko aus der Slowakei (KTM) und Argentinier Franco Caimi auf dem dritten Platz.
Sunderland: “I started out thinking I’ve got a bit of a lead so I just wanted to take it easy and stick to my road book and try to start with a good rhythm. Then after about 40 km it was very confusing in some of the riverbeds. I went into the wrong valley and I got a bit stressed but I managed to correct pretty fast. Then I made another mistake. It was really hard. The road book said to follow the river but there were so many rivers all going in different ways. It’s quite hard to stay positive, especially when you make a mistake. But when I arrived at the refueling I saw there were only a couple of bikes there, so I didn’t actually lose much time.”
Walkner: “Actually it was not such a good day but it was very difficult for everyone with the navigation. I tried to give my best and I just got lost once, but it was a big mistake. Now there are just two days left and I will keep pushing and try not to do anything stupid because the situation is now quite good.”
Laia Sanz: “I really enjoyed the first part of the special because it was a lot of navigation. I made some small mistakes but nothing serious. I took it easy when I saw how difficult the navigation was because I didn’t want to get lost like I did in the first week. I was ninth in the first part but the second part was not my favorite kind of stage with Motocross and lots of bumps. I also ran out of water and it was very hot so I just relaxed and tried to reach the finish. I think the beginning of tomorrow’s test will also be very hard but I hope to have another good day.”
Results Stage 10 Dakar 2017
Chilecito - San Juan: 449 km timed, 751 km total
1. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 5:49:45 h
2. Stefan Svitko (SVK), KTM, +24 sec
3. Franco Caimi (ARG), Honda, +3:48 min
4. Pela Renet (FRA), Husqvarna, +4:21
5. Helder Rodrigues (POR), Yamaha, +5:45
Other KTM
6. Ivan Cervantes (ESP), KTM, +7:15
10. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, +12:53
12. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, +17:08
14. Laia Sanz (ESP), KTM, +21:39
Standings Dakar 2017 after 10 of 12 stages
1. Sunderland, 28:07:59 h
2. Walkner, +30:01 min (5 min penalty)
3. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP), KTM, +38:43
4. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, +41:57
5. Barreda, +53:47 (1:01 h penalty)
Other KTM
10. Svitko, +1:48:45 h (1 h penalty)
