Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team riders Ruben Faria and Pablo Quintanilla hold down top-10 positions in the 2016 Dakar Rally.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla of Chile carded an eighth-place finish in Stage 3 of the 2016 Dakar Rally today, making him the factory team’s fastest man in the shortened stage. Quintanilla crossed the line in sixth place, 1 minute and 52 seconds behind stage winner Kevin Benavides, who inherited the win after a penalty was handed down to Team HRC’s Joan Barreda.
While Quintanilla’s teammate Ruben Faria of Portugal was well down in the stage finishing order today, the Portuguese rider is right behind Quintanilla in the overall standings, with Quintanilla seventh overall and Faria eighth overall. Both are under 4 minutes off the lead time.
“Today was better for me because we made some changes to the suspension overnight and I felt good,” Quintanilla said. “The stage was also better than yesterday, but the same kind of terrain and only basic navigation.”
Faria’s finish was largely the result of a mistake at the refueling stop, according to his team. Some 80 kilometers before the end of the timed special he noticed his front tank was empty and was forced to reduce his pace to make it home on what fuel was was left in his second tank.
“I rode at 50 kilometers per hour for the last 80 kilometers, and I lost about 5-6 minutes,” Faria said.
Faria is one of the most experienced Dakar riders, and he will have the opportunity to make up his lost time Wednesday when the competition heads toward more difficult terrain in a stage with more navigational challenges and an average altitude of 3500 meters. It is also a marathon stage, which means that only Faria will be allowed to make repairs to his motorcycle for the next two days.
Pela Renet, the third of the trio of Husqvarna factory riders, had a much better day during Stage 3 today. He finished 22nd, and he moved up in the overall order. According to the team, the Frenchman is taking a day-by-day approach and trying to avoid any serious mistakes. He is now 39th in the overall rally standings.
“It was better than yesterday,” Renet said. “I started more toward the front this morning so it was a bit easier with the dust. I was able to make up a few more places for a better starting position tomorrow. I don’t want to make any stupid mistakes and crash. I am taking my time to learn and I don’t want to go too fast.”
Husqvarna-supported rider Jacopo Cerutti of Italy is 19.34 behind the leader in the overall standings. He is contesting his first Dakar after winning the right to enter following a good result in the 2015 Sardegna Rally Race, A Dakar Challenge event.