Duclos wins in Salta

Friday 10 January 2014
Sixth stage: San Miguel de Tucuman - Salta
Link section: 37 km – Special: 234 km – Neutralisation : 62 km – Special: 104 km – Link section: 28 km – Total: 465 km

Yesterday’s special was a dark day for the motorcyclists and today continued in the same vein. Després will have a Sisyphean task ahead of him to make it on to the podium. Not only did he have mechanical problems but he took a one hour penalty for missing the famous waypoint at km261. This morning’s Special was really technical, winding through very green and luxuriant vegetation. The navigation was a real challenge and the trail sometimes coincided with tracks frequented by animals. Alain Duclos, who had been through a tough few days, clocked up the best time of the 234 km Special on his Sherco. In so doing, the Franco-Malian rediscovered the taste of a stage victory and clawed back 10’ from Viladoms in the overall rankings. He is ahead of Coma who still believes that the race is up for grabs. Michael Metge, who came in third, set off ahead of Cyril this morning and therefore felt more free to attack. In fourth position, Joan Barreda was followed closely by Després, who has made a remarkable comeback, and Helder Rodrigues. For Chaleco Lopez, the adventure came to an end at km211 with a nasty crash that put his KTM out of action… In quad class, Marcos Patronelli crashed in the marathon stage and his quad fell 400m. Happily, he managed to jump clear and escaped unhurt. Today, it was Rafal Sonik who clocked up the best time ahead of Lafuente, who is top of the leader board, and Gallegos. This evening, the Dakar is settling down for two days in Salta including the rest day tomorrow. We have to report the sad news of the death of Éric Palante, a Belgian motorcyclist who was riding in his 11th Dakar at the age of nearly 50. Éric was a dyed in the wool fan of the Dakar. He was found by doctors when they searched the course this morning. There was no Iritrack alert which means that he did not crash at high speed. The circumstances of his death are not known for the moment. He had water and did not release his distress signal. The Argentinian authorities are conducting an enquiry.