Within Dakar, every day is difficult. No time to rest. Nor, in this case, to acclimatize to the different routes and all the traps hidden by the plains of Saudi Arabia. Stage 1 of Dakar 2024 is a clear example of this. In a category like motorcycles, a race of pure survival with a dozen great favorites, where it is necessary to go full throttle from the first to the last day, there is no quiet day. Things always happen. There is room for joy, as in a Lorenzo Santolino, who in his Sherco had a good start in the Dakar, achieving a very good 6th position (provisional) on stage 1 3’17” behind the current provisional winner, the 2020 champion with Honda Ricky Brabec. And we say tentatively, because Ross Branch could have taken the stage win when he was given back the nearly 26 minutes he should have been given for stopping to help. Tosha Schareina.
Exactly, that of Valencian Tosha is on the other side, that is on Tosha Schareina (Honda). The Spaniard, who started as the first leader of the Dakar after his great victory in the prologue stage, had to retire due to a fall, as did Joaquim Rodrigues (Bayani) and Michael Docherty who were leading the race at the last checkpoint and suffered. an accident after 5 km, before reaching the finish line. Three casualties on the first day. The Dakar is unforgiving, from the first kilometer to the last.
Tosha Schareina retired due to a fall
Schareina comes as the great revelation of 2023 after taking advantage of the opportunity from Honda, who put him on trial at the World Championship to evaluate him. After finishing second in his World Cup debut in Mexico and winning his second race in Argentina, he arrives in Dakar as the official driver of the golden wing firm.want to fight for victory. This was confirmed in the prologue stage, which debuted with success, something that allowed him to choose a good place from which to start stage 1 this Saturday.. But Three Kings Day brought coal, in a completely cruel and inappropriate way, to the 28-year-old pilot. Tosha reached the halfway point of the stage in third position, riding with his teammate Van Beveren and Branch, the only one of the favorites to shave minutes off him.
He only lost 2’04” compared to the Hero driver. But at kilometer 240 of the total 414 special stage, he fell. It was in the slow zone, when he rode behind the dust kicked up by Toby Price. He tried to overtake Australian and had a rear tire hit. He went to the ground. He could have continued if he hadn’t fallen and hit one of his wrists. He broke it and had to leave.
Rodrigues said goodbye and Barreda helped him
Earlier, at kilometer 82, before reaching the first checkpoint, Hero rider Joquim Rodrigues fell and also had to say goodbye. His companion, Joan Barreda, stopped there to help him. The Spaniard from Torreblanca appears to have temporarily surrendered 20 minutes compared to today’s winner, Ricky Brabec, and 20’06 overall compared to the American, the new leader. Even the man from Castellón should be given more time for stopping to help Rodrigues.
Santolino, good start
But not all is bad for the interests of the Spanish pilots. After the setback that led to the abandonment of the main Spanish favorite for the general classification, Lorenzo Santolino from Salamanca. The pilot from Guijuelo, riding his Sherco, showed a good speed throughout the special, very consistent, and took full advantage of his good starting position to finish 6th provisionally, 3’17 behind winner of the day, thus placing himself in 5th, 3 ’14 behind the provisional leader.
The Spaniard arrives at Dakar 2024 with the aim of improving on his sixth final position of 2021 with a Top-5. He started well, but he knew there was still a world left and he wasn’t the favorite against so many KTMs, GasGas, Husqvarna and Honda.
“It was a very long day, more than 5 hours on the motorcycle, but it was fun. I caught Sanders at kilometer 80 and I kept pushing the whole time until the neutralization, which I left to him. Then I rode alone until kilometer 350 when I saw Van Beveren, I only saw him in the slow places, farther from the fast ones, but it was good to maintain concentration,” commented Lorenzo.
“The special one is sandy, between the canyons, then more open with stones and after the neutralization of the volcanic gravel, there are no traces. I found Tosha who was being assisted by Branch. It’s a shame, I’m doing very well. Get well. From there, driving slowly, it was difficult to maintain balance, but I passed the special without a waterfall. Happy with the bike, we took a step forward. There are many more,” Santolino added.
Mason Klein, who opened the track, saw how the organization gave him back a 6’21” bonus for riding in the lead (a rule introduced last year to compensate for the losses of track openers). So the American finished second at 25″ of the best. Cox was 3rd against the Honda of José Ignacio Cornejo, who lost 2’49”. Benavides, who arrived injured after suffering a broken fibula a month ago, finished 7th in 3’58”. Daniel Sanders is 8th in 6 minutes, ahead of Michek and Quintantilla (10th in 9’39”). But the final classification still needs to be clarified with the return of the times. Branch can lead.
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.
