He surprised in 2020 getting his first victory in his second Dakar with a private KTM. signed for yamaha to make the definitive leap in his career but things did not go well and the tuning fork firm ended up packing its bags at the end of the last Dakar. With his departure, Ross Branch became the icing on the cake of hero, his star. And the 36-year-old Botswana, born in johannesburgit did not take long to restore the confidence of the Indian firm with the success of the stage at Dakar. The brand achieves that goal by Rodriguez in 2022and a year later he was branded ‘Ferrari of Kalahari’ achieved that victory against more powerful brands and a grid full of very fast pilots. He did it on a complex stage, with a lot of dirt, as well as sand and dunes, a day where everyone expected to mark the differences. And there is. Howes remained in the lead as after the stage they punished Mason Klein with two minutes. Joan Barreda shaved a few more minutes off the lead and is now 8’21”. The man from Torreblanca is in a good position to attack stage 9, after tomorrow’s rest day.
Klein, leader
Howes and Price, who arrived as the leader and was classified second in this stage, was among the first three riders to ride the track, with no other marks than those of the winner of the previous stage, Luciano Benavides. The ballot that Howes and Price had was not easy and they paid for it, giving up on all their rivals, something that tightened the classification a lot: There were 8 drivers in just 8 minutes. They are wearing scarves.
hello the day started with prices at 3’31 in general and Mason Klein and Quintanilla at 12′, in addition to having Sanders, another of the great favourites, at 19′. The stage is complicated and things have changed completely.
hello lost 15 minutes compared to the winner and pricesanother 14. Meanwhile, Klein he took advantage of his starting position to attack and it looks like he will get a second position that will put him in the lead. However, the American was penalized 2 minutes and it took control of the race from him. After that punishment, Howes led the kevin benavides stuck in second position, just 1’13”, tied with Mason Klein (3rd) at the same time. Price is fourth at 2’58” and Quintanilla was fifth in 3’45”, followed by Van Beveren at 3’49”. crazy. 6 pilots in just 4 minutes.
Sanders pushes Barreda, in 9’08 overall
But the pool of applicants is much larger. Sanders got into the ‘pomade’ by going from being 19′ overall, to just 8’03” in 7th place. And Joan Barreda, who chose not to attack yet, starting from fourth position, with several lines to push, achieved the goal of not only not losing, but also scraping some time compared to the leader. He started the day over 10 minutes and is now 8th at 8’21”.
Great strategy for Barreda to face the last fight
Joan is running the most strategically efficient race in years. He went from thinking with his fist to doing it in his head, realizing his mistakes from previous courses and understanding that he should be less emotional and more reflective. He finished 14th on stage 8, 12.30 behind the winner. Its position will be ideal for a stage 9 where difficult navigation is outstanding. Following in the footsteps of other riders from behind, stage 9 could be the perfect attack. Not only because of the time he can achieve and the blow he can make in the general classification, but also because winning stage 9 will lead him to open the track in stage 10.
If there is a stage where it might be good to start first, it is certainly, because it will be very short, 115 km, according to the organization, “to whet your appetite” for what will come when the race enters the heart of ‘ Empty Quarter’. Although that is always unknown until the day comes. Barreda can take advantage of that day to open and reduce the loss that the pilot who leads the way usually has without traces of other pilots, better than opening the track in the long dune stage of the ‘Empty Quarter’ . That would be Torreblanca’s preferred terrain.
In the dunes he is one of the fastest riders and he has shown it on many occasions. He wanted to get into a good position for that final fight in the arena. There, his gloves are ready to hit after the first week where Joan prepared the ground well, although he knows that in Dakar, no matter how many plans you make, luck has to be on your side.
Santolino, 12th overall
Lawrence Santolino (Sherco) started the day 37′ 39” off the lead and managed to scratch a good 6 minutes off the lead. the one of Guijuelo He was 12th in the general classification in 31’22” and just under 8 minutes behind Top-10 which closes Matthias Walkner (KTM) in a very even race full of very fast riders running at very high speeds. The driver from Salamanca again had a great day, finishing 9th, 8′ 49” behind the winner.
Classification of stage 8 on motorcycles
Temporarily
1. (BWA) ROSS BRANCH
HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY 03H 46′ 18”
2. (AU) DANIEL SANDERS
RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING
+ 00H 03′ 15”
3. (USA) MASON KLEIN
BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM
+00H 03’33”
4. (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM
+00H 06’29”
5. (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM
+00H 06’35”
6. (ZAF) MICHAEL DOCHERTY
HT RALLY RAID HUSQVARNA RACING
+00H 08’00”
7. (DEU) SEBASTIAN BUHLER
HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY
+ 00H 08′ 13”
8. (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
+ 00H 08′ 40”
9. (ENG) LORENZO SANTOLINO
SHERCO FACTORY
+00H 08’49”
10. (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
+ 00H 09′ 18”
The
14. (ENG) JOAN BARREDA BORT
MONSTER ENERGY JB TEAM 03H 58′ 48”
+00H 12’30”
16. (ENG) TOSHA SCHAREINA
BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM 04H 00′ 20”
+00H 14’02”
17. (AUS) TOBY PRICE
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 04H 00′ 51”
+ 00H 14′ 33” 00H 01′ 00”
19. (USA) SKYLER HOWES
HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING 04H 01′ 24”
+00H 15’06”
The
28. (ENG) JOAN PEDRERO GARCIA
TEAM LS2 SHAD
+00H 30′ 24”
The
Overall ranking
Temporarily, after episode 8
1. (USA) SKYLER HOWES
HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING 30H 33′ 16”
2. (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
+ 00H 01′ 13”
3. (USA) MASON KLEIN
BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM
+ 00H 01′ 13”
4. (AUS) TOBY PRICE
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
+00H02’58”
5. (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM
+ 00H 03′ 45” 00H 02′ 00”
6. (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM
+00H03’49”
7. (AU) DANIEL SANDERS
RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING
+00H 08’03”
8. (ENG) JOAN BARREDA BORT
MONSTER ENERGY JB TEAM
+00H 08’21”
9. (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM
+ 00H 20′ 32”
10. (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
+00H 23’35”
11. (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES
HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING
+00H 25’32”
12. (ENG) LORENZO SANTOLINO
SHERCO FACTORY
+00H 31′ 22”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
