Dakar Rally: Barreda, Sonik, Al-Attiyah and Nikolaev top stage 2; Santosh 50th

The 518 km special stage proved to be a stern test for over 400 competitors on the second day of the Dakar Rally, with even the most experienced falling prey to the perils of the prestigious rally raid.

BIKES: BARREDA SURGES TO LEAD AFTER STAGE 2 WIN

Spain’s Joan Barreda surged to the lead of the 36th edition of the Dakar Rally with a superlative victory in the second stage. The Honda rider capitalised on the troubles of yesterday’s winner San Sunderland and defending champion Marc Coma to register his 11th ever stage victory.

Sunderland lost his way and took over two hours to return to the ideal course, effectively eliminating any chances of taking his first Dakar Rally win.

While the Brit was in search for his first title, Marc Coma was on a hunt to add another accolade to his already impressive tally. However, mechanical gremlins took a toll on the Spaniard, forcing him to ease off during the last 60 km of the special stage.

Also benefiting from rivals’ misfortunes were Paulo Gonçalves and Ruben Faria. The former consolidated yesterday’s second place results but sits over six minutes behind the Dakar Rally’s new leader.

India’s CS Santosh broke into the top 50 with a far better day in Argentina. The TVS Sherco racing team, however, fell down the order with their French pairing of Alain Duclos and Fabien Planet now 12th and 25th in the overall standings.

Stage 2 results

Joan Barreda (Honda) 5:46:06
Paulo Goncalves (Honda) +6:13
Ruben Faria (KTM) +9:16
Jordi Viladoms (KTM) +9:20
Toby Price (KTM) 9:42
Matthias Walkner (KTM) +11:25
Helder Rodrigues (Honda) +11:35
Marc Coma (KTM) +12:32
Jeremias Israel (Honda) +15:49
Juan Pedrero (Yamaha) +16:45

QUADS: SONIK TAKES OVERALL LEAD WITH LATE SURGE ON DAY 2

The quad category also saw a change in lead, albeit without mechanical problems or unforced errors affecting the order of the day.

Having trailed stage 1 winner Ignacio Casale and second runners up Sergio Lafuente at third checkpoint, Rafal Sonik initiated a late surge to take the overall lead by two minutes and 26 seconds. The three Yamaha riders are within five minutes of each other going into the 220 km third stage.

Stage 2 results

Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) 6:49:24
Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) +3:33
Sergio Lafuente (Yamaha) +4:14
Sebastian Halpern (Yamaha) +9:06
Gaston Gonzalez (Yamaha) +18:54
Mohamed Abu Issa (Honda) +19:52
Sergei Kariakin (Yamaha) +28:20
Pablo Copetti (Yamaha) +33:22
Kees Koolen (Honda) +34:02
Walter Nosiglia (Honda) +34:07

CARS: AL-ATTIYAH MAINTAINS STATUS QUO

Losing two minutes and being stripped of a stage victory can be quite disastrous a result unless your name is Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari driver dominated the proceedings on the stage two, beating 2009 Dakar Rally winner Giniel De Villiers by eight-and-a-half minutes.

Even after taking the penalty into consideration, Al-Attiyah has a healthy lead at the top of the standings, apart from the momentum he has gained in these two days.

Stage 2 results

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini) 5:04:50
Giniel De Villiers (Toyota) +8:30
Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota) +10:04
Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini) +11:12
Vladimir Vasilyev (Mini) +16:09
Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota) +17:57
Erik Van Loon (Mini) +19:44
Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) +20:26
Carlos Sousa (Mitsubishi) +21:00
Orlando Terranova (Mini) +24:01

TRUCKS: NIKOLAEV WINS STAGE TWO, STACEY MAINTAINS OVERALL LEAD

Over 60 trucks were destined for a comparatively shorter route in stage 2, but one that was no less challenging.

2013 Dakar Rally winner Eduard Nikolaev won the stage 2 in the trucks category and now sits a mere 20 seconds behind yesterday’s winner Hans Stacey who could only manage a fourth place result today. Siarhei Viazovich finished second while Ayrat Mardeev made it two Russians in the top three.

Stage 2 results

Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 3:34:01
Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) +46
Aryat Mardeev (Kamaz) +49
Hans Stacey (Iveco) +1:27
Martin Kolomy (Tatra) 1:41
Martin van den Brink (Renault) +2:07
Ales Loprais (MAN) +2:40
Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +3:13
Marcel Van Vliet (MAN) +4:16
Andrei Karginov (Kamaz) +5:23