The third stage of the Dakar Rally went well for the Sherco driver as he finished the more than 400 km timed section at the gates of the “Top Ten”.
The Dakar started hard and continues to be tough. Long, excruciating stages with demanding navigation and treacherous tracks.
The day consisted of 432 km of sandy but dusty tracks, requiring extra care from Rui Gonçalves, who once again committed himself to recovering some of the ground lost in the initial stage of the race.
With safe driving and always evaluating where he could put more effort into his driving, Rui Gonçalves was in excellent shape after another extremely demanding day and finishing in 12th place overall in a total of 4h48 and just over 9m from the winner.
Rui Gonçalves will spend the night in the desert together with the other competitors in a bivouac specially dedicated to this marathon stage and with the mechanics having just two hours to review the mechanics of the bikes before entering the parc fermé.
The Dakar continues tomorrow with the 4th day of the race in a stage that will connect Al Salamiya and Al-Hofuf for a total of 631 km, 300 of which will be run against the clock.
Rui Gonçalves: "Today's stage went well, I felt good on the bike but I caught some dust which forced me to slow down to avoid some of the dangers we encountered on the track. At a certain point for a few kilometers the bike started to fail, but then suddenly everything returned to normal. I passed Sebastian Bühler when he was lying on the track, a rider to whom I wish a speedy recovery. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this adventure."
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Rui Gonçalves's official press release
Photos: Rally Zone
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