18:18 | Pisco (Ica region), Jan. 15.
Riders and drivers had to tackle 360 km of sand and dunes on the return journey to Pisco during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally
being held entirely in Peru.
The day started with fesh-fesh and was followed by an intermittence of beaches for almost 80 km.
Before encountering the genuine chains of dunes to be crossed to reach the finishing line of the special, care had to be taken to avoid stalling in the formidable "Subida de los Burros."
The dunes of Ica —already partially visited during stage two— were more comprehensively explored, with the aim of submitting the participants to the most demanding of ascensions and descents, for example at the 300-km mark on the special.
To finish the route, a final portion of off-track racing required maximum awareness from the co-pilots.
Bike
"Until the refueling, Toby caught up a lot of time on me, but in the dunes I tried to push really hard in the morning. It was a really fast track with not really visible stones and I didn't feel so good but, at the end, I felt quite good and tried to push a lot," he said.
Quad
Nicolas Cavigliasso is not loosening his grip on the Dakar and has just won his 7th special stage since the start in Lima.
Auto
Sebastien Loeb has picked up his fourth stage victory on the Dakar 2019 on completion of a show of strength.
SxS
Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez has been on fine form these last few days. The former biker has won his third consecutive special stage in Pisco and, as a result, he has taken the lead in the SxS general standings.
Truck
More importantly, he completed the stage almost one hour ahead of his teammate
Eduard Nikolaev and has taken the lead in the general standings.
(END) RMB
Published: 1/15/2019