British off road racer Sam Sunderland has finished day one of the Dakar rally in eighth position. The factory Honda rider is aiming to give HRC their first Dakar victory since 1989. His team mate Joan Barreda is topping the leader board after the first stage. Here’s a snippet from the press release.
Skiiiids!
Honda had proved its strength last October with the new CRF450 RALLY, winning both the Morocco Rally and the Merzouga Rally. Thus, the team has taken command of the first stage of the 2014 edition, after 25 years of absence.
It was back on 11th January 1989 when the official Honda HRC savoured victory for the last time. That was when Gilles Lalay took the fifteenth stage of the Paris-Tunisia-Dakar. Now, in the second year back in the event after a 24 year official absence, Joan Barreda has picked up a crucial first stage win on the CRF450 RALLY. After 25 years, Honda are back in the running.
It was a very early start for the Rally Dakar. The pack of riders headed off at four in the morning on a long 405 kilometre liasion that took them towards the vibrant city of Rosario for the start of the 180 km special.
‘Av that!
Joan Barreda on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, got off to a storming start in the special, clocking up the fastest time of all the 175 riders at the first time-check, in this, the 2014 edition of the legendary Dakar. He would repeat the same feat at the end of the stage. Team-mate Paulo Gonçalves also kept up a cracking pace, holding on to fifth place at the close. Sam Sunderland’s Honda debut at the Dakar was productive, taking ninth position. Javier Pizzolito finished 19th and Helder Rodrigues in 22nd.
Sam Sunderland – 8th – +04’33 – TEAM HRC
We’ve finished the first day. A very long special that for us started when we had to get up at 3.00 a.m. More than 800 kilometres and a long liaison too. It was a really intense ride throughout the special. I made a minor error at the beginning and maybe because I changed the settings that punished the rear brake excessively. But in spite of everything, it hasn’t been that bad a stage.
You can keep up with the Dakar here, or follow Sam on twitter here. Just don’t expect too many updates from him, he’s a little busy at the minute.