2017 Dakar Day 3: Aravind calls it a day

KP Aravind has dropped out of the 2017 Dakar Rally following a crash in the third stage. Despite carrying a couple of fractures from the previous day’s crash, the Dakar debutant was determined to finish the rally. However a nasty fall 40km into Day 3 saw him grievously injure his shoulder, forcing him to drop out of contention. 

Stretching from San Miguel de Tucuman to San Salvador de Jujuy, the third stage is notorious for its complex 70km hilly section which throws riders off the course. The route took riders through river beds, grass and river crossings, reaching altitudes of up to 5,000 metres. Joan Barreda earned his 15th stage win of his Dakar career in this stage, chasing down reigning champion Toby Price who slipped to ninth position by the end of the day. Price’s KTM team mate Sam Sunderland is in second place while the third spot has been taken up by Pierre Renet riding for the Husqvarna factory team. 

India’s CS Santosh also had his set of problems to deal with. After losing some time navigating through the hilly section, Santosh managed to finish 67th in the stage. However, an 80 minute penalty for missing a waypoint saw him drop to 104th position. His Hero Speedbrain team mate Joaquim Rodrigues had a better run, finishing 19th in the stage. Team Sherco TVS’ Pedrero Garcia finished 16th in the stage while his team mate Adrian Metge finished 30th.

Day 4 will see the riders tackle the 521km route from San Salvador de Jujuy to Tupiza. Of this, 416km will be the special stage and will give the riders their first taste of sand dunes.

Day 3 results:

1. Joan Barreda 

2. Sam Sunderland +12:29

3. Pela Renet +15:30

4. Pablo Quintanilla +16:02

5. Paulo Goncalves +16:20

Overall results:

1. Joan Barreda 

2. Sam Sunderland +10.20

3. Paulo Goncalves +13.42

4. Pablo Quintanilla +14.56

5. Toby Price +16.19