Spoiler Alert 2014 Dakar

[Guest Crusty]

the total of 13 stages makes this so epic. 1 day a hero the next a zero.

Stages won.

Honda 3

sherco 1

KTM. 1

We must have hit a booby trap!

[Guest Crusty]

What happen today,

Joan Barreda sped off from sixth place today, looking to make up for lost time and straight away started clocking up some of the best times. Nevertheless, as he caught up with the riders ahead, the group took a path which turned out to be a mistaken one, and thus the rider concedes time to his closest rivals. Barreda finished in 17th place some 44 minutes off the winner of the special. In doing so, the Spaniard drops back into second overall place behind Marc Coma.

Helder Rodrigues takes fourth place in a shortened stage

Hélder Rodrigues takes fourth place for TEAM HRC, his best result to date, and climbs the leader-board in the Rally Dakar 2014.

Security reasons have been cited for the cancelation of the second part of the special, which made up almost a third of the overall distance of today’s stage. The first part of the special was run at a cracking place, taking in some dunes and off-route navigation, before arriving at the neutralization zone. The riders had 111 untimed kilometres to run prior to the start of the second part of the special, but the organization decided to call it off completely.

Joan Barreda sped off from sixth place today, looking to make up for lost time and straight away started clocking up some of the best times. Nevertheless, as he caught up with the riders ahead, the group took a path which turned out to be a mistaken one, and thus the rider concedes time to his closest rivals. Barreda finished in 17th place some 44 minutes off the winner of the special. In doing so, the Spaniard drops back into second overall place behind Marc Coma. Javier Pizzolito played it safe and finished in 33rd place. This morning’s stage took the riders through the dry scrubs, one of which got caught up between Paulo Gonçalves’ engine and exhaust setting the area on fire, which then spread to the engine. The flames engulfed the bike of the FIM Cross-Country World Champion, who although escaping unhurt, is forced out of the competition.

The riders on the new production Honda CRF450 RALLY, Pablo ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez and Laia Sanz, finished amongst the front-runners once again. ‘Cacha’ scored the 16th best time against the clock and Laia finished 26th moving up into 16th overall place in the standings.

Helder Rodrigues 4th +25'53 TEAM HRC

Another day at a really long and really tough Dakar. It’s the fifth day of the hardest Dakar yet. Even though it’s only the fifth day, it’s been really difficult. The Dakar is so long and you have to keep up the concentration and be really strong to make it through the day and get a result.

Joan Barreda 17th +44'20 TEAM HRC

It’s been a really hard day, one of the most difficult, with very high temperatures and soft sand. Every day it just gets tougher. I had an issue with the fuel at the start of the special, but after I was able to get back into it. I caught up with Marc Coma and the fuel problems came back when I was looking for a waypoint. I lost a lot of time trying to repair it. The most important thing is that we finished, we are still in the race. Let’s see how the next few days play out.

Javier Pizzolito 33th +1:14'44 TEAM HRC

A really hard special. I had to start out from behind and struggle against the dust. Later the track opened out a bit and I was able to raise the pace and catch up with the riders in front. After I had a slight problem with the fuel that held me back a bit and another stage escaped us. But it’s always a plus to arrive. Today various bikes caught fire and it’s another filtering stage. Over a 120 bikes are out, so to make it back to the bivouac is good news.

Classifications Stage 5

1 Marc Coma 03:02'08 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

2 Jordi Viladoms +12'54 ESP GAS GAS Gas Gas JVO Team

3 Kuba Przygonski +22'45 POL KTM KTM Rally Factory

4 Helder Rodrigues +25'53 POR HONDA TEAM HRC

5 Riian Van Niekerk +32'04 SAF KTM Brother Link KTM Rally Factory

6 Juan Carlos Salvatierra +33'12 BOL SPEEDBRAIN Speedbrain Rally Team

7 Joan Pedrero +34'03 ESP SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory

8 Stefan Svitko +36'38 SLO KTM Oraving Slovnaft Team

9 Robert Van Pelt +37'04 HOL HONDA Team Van Pelt

10 Daniel Gouet +37'53 CHI HONDA Tamarugal Honda Racing XC Rally Team

General standings after Stage 5

1 Marc Coma 18:45'11 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

2 Joan Barreda +41'10 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC

3 Chaleco López +53'41 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

4 Jordi Viladoms +58'58 ESP GAS GAS Gas Gas JVO Team

5 Alain Duclos +01:02'13 FRA SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory

6 Olivier Pain +01:12'22 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing

7 Kuba Przygonski +01:14'27 POL KTM KTM Rally Factory

8 Cyril Despres +01:23'01 FRA YAMAHA Yamaha Racing

9 Jeremias Israel +01:23'30 CHL SPEEDBRAIN Team Speedbrain

10 Stefan Svitko +01:30'13 SLO KTM Oraving Slovnaft Team

Event information

TOMORROW'S STAGE Friday, January 10

Stage 6: Tucumán -Salta

Liaison: 64 km

Special: 400 km

Total: 464 km

[PastaPilot 17]

You missed this one.

Pedro Concalves - Out

Joan Barreda lost 40 minutes today with fuel system trouble and looks to me like Concalves may also have had fuel system troubles.

Nay, definitely had fuel system troubles.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19ggam_us-stage-5-top-moment-chilecito-tucuman_auto

[robertaccio 412]

HRC!! I just a saw a photo on FB purported to be Goncalves very upset nearby head in hands and his burning bike, Really torched and burning end to end. see above post from Jon.

Gonçalves' tears forced to retire.

Las lágrimas de Gonçalves, forzado a abandonar.

All information > www.dakar.com

#dakar2014 - FRANCK FIFE / AFP

[Afry 1]

Better sit down Crusty......HONDA of Sam Sunderland all blowed up (official NASCAR term) Bummer for Sam Sunderland.

I know it's a long race and not even half way through but it's sure not looking good for Despres and his Yamaha who was 40+ min out after day 3 and now 83 min behind, day 3 was an electrical problem and now a blown engine?

From Dakar.com

The fourth day of the 2014 Dakar was also a rude awakening for some of the big names, including the defending champion himself. Cyril Despres maintained an ideal pace throughout most of the stage but blew up with about 12 kilometers to go and could only watch as his rivals and other nearby riders disappear into the distance. The five-time winner now has a 41-minute deficit to Barreda in the general classification. With a history of amazing comebacks, it is too early to write Despres off, but his task has just become even more difficult than he had imagined. A real downer for sure, but Despres was still luckier than stage 2 winner Sam Sunderland, who had to give up after the engine of his Honda broke down.

[PastaPilot 17]

Cyril Despres - Yamaha Factory Racing

“It was very hot in the special and the sand was soft. Because of that I was paying particular attention to engine temperature and even more so when I noticed I was consuming fuel at an alarming rate. I was on my way to get the famous WP17 but had to turn back when I realised I wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it to the end. I was right on the limit of running out when I came across a quad rider who kindly gave me a litre and a half. In all, my various problems cost me 44 minutes, to which will be added the one hour penalty…”

[Guest Crusty]

Better sit down Crusty......HONDA of Sam Sunderland all blowed up (official NASCAR term) Bummer for Sam Sunder.

I know it's a long race and not even half way through but it's sure not looking good for Despres and his Yamaha who was 40+ min out after day 3 and now 83 min behind, day 3 was an electrical problem and now a blown engine?

From Dakar.com

The fourth day of the 2014 Dakar was also a rude awakening for some of the big names, including the defending champion himself. Cyril Despres maintained an ideal pace throughout most of the stage but blew up with about 12 kilometers to go and could only watch as his rivals and other nearby riders disappear into the distance. <br style="color: rgb(42, 19, 0); font-family: verdana, arial; font-size: 11px; background-color: rgb(250, 243, 224);"><br style="color: rgb(42, 19, 0); font-family: verdana, arial; font-size: 11px; background-color: rgb(250, 243, 224);">The five-time winner now has a 41-minute deficit to Barreda in the general classification. With a history of amazing comebacks, it is too early to write Despres off, but his task has just become even more difficult than he had imagined. A real downer for sure, but Despres was still luckier than stage 2 winner Sam Sunderland, who had to give up after the engine of his Honda broke down.

We have a robot, own Baja, sell 18 million bikes a year, I could go on and on," Winning Dakar" is just icing on the cake.

[bikeslut 1]

"we"?

I applaud your loyalty; keep backing team red to the grave!

[Guest Crusty]

"we"?

I applaud your loyalty; keep backing team red to the grave!

What?? you have no team??

[Crawdaddy 96]

.....I don't really care who wins though I must it admit it would be cool to see Coma take the win in honor/memory of Caselli.......

Coma's making a big charge when the going gets tough.......Caselli must be watching over him/guiding him .....twist it and never look back

[Afry 1]

We have a robot, own Baja, sell 18 million bikes a year, I could go on and on," Winning Dakar" is just icing on the cake.

[Guest Crusty]

We have a robot, own Baja, sell 18 million bikes a year, I could go on and on," Winning Dakar" is just icing on the cake.

With Kkug riding his 450 at his best in Baja whoops, can you keep up on your 950?

[Crawdaddy 96]

Team Honda getting off to a great start

http://touch.dailymotion.com/video/x19ggao_es-etapa-5-top-moment-chilecito-tucuman_auto

Sent from my iPhone

[kkug 147]

Laia Sanz is now my Honda hero. 16 overall -I think that's just great .

[bikeslut 1]

"we"?

I applaud your loyalty; keep backing team red to the grave!

What?? you have no team??

I have some brand preferences, but really I enjoy the riders; the spectacle...the camaraderie and the competition

I like the scenery of Dakar...I daydream what it would be like to be there, riding.

But do "I" have a team...ha...no

It isn't "racing" what I do.

I'm glad Honda jumped in...i'm glad KTM is challenging in supercross

I like Ducati in road racing

I don't have the level of loyalty to brands; they don't pay me to

I love 'em all...seriously

[97xr400r 122]

Laia Sanz is now my Honda hero. :wub:/> 16 overall -I think that's just great .

[Crawdaddy 96]

With Kkug riding his 450 at his best in Baja whoops, can you keep up on your 950?

WTF does that have to do with The DAKAR?

Come'on Hammer, stop being such a "tool"

Let's just enjoy this yearly/epic event!

[Guest Crusty]

With Kkug riding his 450 at his best in Baja whoops, can you keep up on your 950?

WTF does that have to do with The DAKAR?

Come'on Hammer, stop being such a "tool"

Let's just enjoy this yearly/epic event!

Just wanted to find out where this dudes at.

[Guest Crusty]

Hey, Honda is still in second.

Ya we had a bad day, but it's not over yet, so get off my back.

I feel great for the brand/team I am rooting for.

So if Coma screws up you all EAT CROW.

[ADV Bum 205]

Anyone else noticing all the fires. I dont know if the rear tank is such a good thing if your bike is going into flames after a crash.

[ADV Bum 205]

Anyone else noticing all the fires. I dont know if the rear tank is such a good thing if your bike is going into burst into flames after a crash.

[bikeslut 1]

Anyone else noticing all the fires. I dont know if the rear tank is such a good thing if your bike is going into flames after a crash.

I've seen more than one, so I gotta agree with you.

[Guest Crusty]

Anyone else noticing all the fires. I dont know if the rear tank is such a good thing if your bike is going into burst into flames after a crash.

Even Robby Gordon is having fuel problems.

I am confident HRC can solve this, thats the main reason to race, the brand new bike.

If you saw this thing last night you would think so also.

Joan Barreda 17th +44'20 TEAM HRC

It’s been a really hard day, one of the most difficult, with very high temperatures and soft sand. Every day it just gets tougher. I had an issue with the fuel at the start of the special, but after I was able to get back into it. I caught up with Marc Coma and the fuel problems came back when I was looking for a waypoint. I lost a lot of time trying to repair it. The most important thing is that we finished, we are still in the race. Let’s see how the next few days play out.

[socalhodaka 105]

With Kkug riding his 450 at his best in Baja whoops, can you keep up on your 950?

WTF does that have to do with The DAKAR?

Come'on Hammer, stop being such a "tool"

Let's just enjoy this yearly/epic event!

[socalhodaka 105]

Anyone else noticing all the fires. I dont know if the rear tank is such a good thing if your bike is going into burst into flames after a crash.

Even Robby Gordon is having fuel problems.

I am confident HRC can solve this, thats the main reason to race, the brand new bike.

If you saw this thing last night you would think so also.

OK I watched the robot and I think so what?? Its going to cure the fuel problem.