Thursday, 25 August 2016 3e Étape : Bahia Inglesa - Bahia InglesaLink section: 70 km – Special: 202.78 km – Link section: 47.28 km – Total: 320.06 km.The bivouac at Bahia Inglesa is situated on the beach of this small seaside resort with its white sand and turquoise sea. There is a chill in the morning and evening air, but during the day, the sun pushes up the mercury and the scenery is idyllic. Because of la camanchaca, a morning mist caused by the proximity of the desert, the Cordillera of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, the organisers decided to postpone the departure from Bahia for the start of the Special from 10h in the morning till 11h30. After a link section of 70 km, the riders arrived close to the site of the Dakar bivouac, at the foot of the dunes of Copiapó, and struck out for 200 km of sand and dunes. At the end of this fine day out and despite the challenges of interpreting the road book, Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) won the stage, leaving his rival in the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, Sam Sunderland (KTM) far behind. “It was complicated today”, explained Quintanilla, “but the dunes of Copiapó are always hard to read. There are lots of valleys and it’s really easy to go wrong. But it was a good day in the sand!”Honda rider Kevin Benavides came second ahead of Toby Price (KTM), who is in the lead overall, 4' ahead of the man from Argentina. In fourth, Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) is still suffering from stomach pain and crashed again, losing time. “It wasn’t the best day for me but it wasn’t a disaster either”, said the Portuguese rider with a smile. Behind him, Sam Sunderland (KTM) came fifth followed by Matthias Walkner (KTM), who commented that the navigation was very complex but the terrain was magnificent. It was a great day for Laia Sanz (KTM) who, after two days in the dust, has found her feet and a taste for the Chilean desert, finishing 13th. “I really had a ball in the dunes, but unfortunately, 3km from the finish, I ran out of fuel. I was able to freewheel down the dune but then I had to push the bike for 1.5 km. All the same, I’m very happy with my day! » The second girl in the Atacama Rally, Anastasya Nifontova, finished 14th. Since Gonzalez dropped out with electrical problems Rafal Sonik is the only quad in the field.
Junior Ignacio Cornejo (KTM), came 7th ahead of Brabec (Honda), Renet (Husqvarna) and Daniel Gouet (KTM) who, with his team mate Felipe Prohens (KTM), had fun in the dunes that they know like the back of their hand. “We ride more slowly and we can see the tracks, so it’s easier to navigate. And we know the dunes of Copapió so well that we can maybe understand the road book better than the guys in front.”
Judith Tomaselli