Stage 3
San Rafael > San Juan
Nearly 300km of road driving opened the day before the competitors tackled the timed special stage: cars and trucks raced 208km but the bikes and quads took a different route over 270km including an extra summit to climb, a long day for them. The terrain on the SS for all vehicles was rocky mud tracks all the way.
Magazine (2min):
A profle of the French rider Matthieu Lagrive (#97 Yamaha), a Superbike racer who has made the transition to dirt biking for the Dakar.
Stage 3 Summary (3min):
And a navigation mistake from moto leader Marc Coma who followed the car route for a short while, such are the perils of being the opening rider. My favourite thing about these videos is the French pronunciation of ‘Hummer’ and ‘Robby Gordon’.
Videos from the official Dakar YouTube channel / ASO.
Standings
Don’t read this until you’ve seen the videos.
Today – Bikes
Big time gaps today, except for the 2s gap between 2nd and 3rd!
1. Despres (KTM)
2. Verhoeven (Sherco) +8m37s
3. Goncalves (Husqvarna) +8m39s
4. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +10m03s
5. Casteu (Yamaha) +11m42s
Overall – Bikes
1. Despres (KTM)
2. Coma (KTM) +10m12s
3. Casteu (Yamaha) +17m16s
4. Lopez (Aprilia) +17m37s
4. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +19m49s
Today – Cars
1. Roma (MINI)
2. Holowcyc (MINI) +1m09s
3. Al-Attiyah (Hummer) +1m29s
4. De Villiers (Toyota) +1m33s
5. Gordon (Hummer) +2m08s
Overall – Cars
1. Holowcyc (MINI)
2. Gordon (Hummer) +54s
3. De Villiers (Toyota) +1m40s
4. Roma (MINI) +1m50s
5. Peterhansel (MINI) +2m41s
Big gaps among the bike contingent (and quads and trucks too), but the cars are very close together and the order is changing daily! Lots of drama still yet to unfold, the challenge in all classes is not just to beat the competition but to beat the rally.
I Watch Too Much Racing 