Paulo Goncalves out of contention for top spots
Buhler continues his stellar run
The third stage of the Dakar Rally took the competitors for a circuit around the megacity of Neom for a special stage of 404 kms towards the border with Jordan. The stage offered a series of canyons and mountains to explore on a carpet of sand and also touched the highest point of this Dakar, at an altitude of 1,400 metres.
It was a day to forget for Hero MotoSports Team Rally as we met with another major setback in their campaign with Paulo Goncalves out of contention for a top spot. He was left stranded about 30 kms into the stage due to a technical issue in the bike. He had to wait until another competitor in the Trucks category, No. 536, run by Cabini and his team, showed real Dakar spirit by helping to bring the replacement parts to Paulo because according to the rules, he could only be helped by another competitor. He managed to replace the complete engine himself and resumed the stage again. As last reported, fighting all the odds, epitomising the Dakar spirit, he was well on his way towards the finish line. The good news is that he is still alive in the rally to record his overall rankings and fight for the stage results. However, losing this much time today means that a top finish in this edition of the Dakar seems practically out of the reach.
On the brighter side, the rising young star Sebastian Buhler continued with his stellar run and gained more positions today. This is his third consecutive stage where he has made significant gains to finish in 20th place today and moved to 23rd position in the overall rankings. CS Santosh also continued to battle it out there in another tough stage, and arrived safely at the finish line in 50th place. Today’s gritty performance places him at 44th place in the overall rankings at the end of Stage 3.
Joaquim Rodrigues continued his Dakar adventure and rode with ease to gain several positions from his start today to finish the stage in 31st position.
With the team’s top two riders out of contention for the top spots, the team’s hopes are now pinned on the young shoulders of Buhler and the experience of Santosh to step up to the challenge and take the team across the finish line at Riyadh.
In Stage 4 of the Rally, competitors will move to the historic old town Al-Ula after covering 676 kms, including the special of 453 kms.
Sebastian Buhler (Comp No. 32) said, “I enjoyed today’s stage a lot. It has very nice fast tracks and the bike was also running perfectly. At around 400km, there was a waypoint that was very difficult to find. A lot of riders got confused there and lost time. Overall, I think I am riding good and hope to continue in the same way.”
CS Santosh (Comp No. 50) said, “Today was a long stage full of dust. There were mini-canyons that were really dusty but after that the track really opened up and I got into a good rhythm and pace to catch up a few guys in front of me. Just before the refuelling point, I lost my way a bit and lost some time in getting back on track. I made a few mistakes today but happy to make it to the finish. It’s still a long way to go and I am hoping to find a good rhythm in the upcoming stages.”
Paulo Goncalves (Comp No. 8) said, “It was a really difficult day for me today. Around 30 kms into the stage, my bike stopped and I could not get it started. I had to wait a long time before I got the replacement parts and fixed the bike to finally get moving again. I know I have lost a lot of time and my chances of fighting for a top position are over. It is an unfortunate situation and all of us are sad after the good work the team had put in through the year. But this is the Dakar and anything can happen here. Now, my goal is to try and make some good stage results for the team and help my teammates Santosh and Buhler to finish what we all started.”
Joaquim Rodrigues (Comp No. 27) said, “Well, for me now, the race is all about taking the experience for myself and help my teammates to finish the race. Today we had a difficult waypoint where I saw everyone going around to find it. I thought my navigation was correct but when I reached, it wasn’t there. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter much for me as I am not in contention but it feels good to know that my instincts were right.”
Source Hero Motosports official press release
