The 39th edition of the Dakar Rally has drawn to an end and both the Indian teams, TVS Sherco and Hero Speedbrain have concluded the race with flying colours. The two Sherco TVS riders, Joan Pedrero and Adrien Metge had a great run in the final stage, finishing 15th and 18th respectively. Pedrero finished 13th overall while Metge came in 22nd. Team Hero Speedbrain rider Joaquim Rodrigues broke into the coveted top 10 rankings while CS Santosh finished 47th.
Sam Sunderland aced the overall standings, securing the first Dakar victory for a British rider in the motorcycle class. Surprisingly, this is the first time Sunderland has managed to finish the Dakar rally. With this victory, KTM has now extended its winning streak to 16.
The second spot was secured by Sunderland’s fellow KTM rider Matthias Walkner. The pursuit for the final spot on the podium saw a heated battle between Yamaha rider Adrien Van Beveren and KTM privateer Gerard Farres. However a one minute penalty in the Stage 11 proved expensive for Van Beveren, as he slipped to the fourth spot despite winning the final stage of the rally. Farres finished 48 seconds ahead of Van Beveren. Of the 146 motorcycles that were flagged off on Stage 1, 97 crossed the chequered flag at the end of the 2017 Dakar Rally.
Stage 12 results
1. Adrien Van Beveren
2. Gerard Farres +0:00
3. Joan Barreda +00:18
4. Matthias Walkner +33:00
5. Paulo Goncalves +1:25
Overall results
1. Sam Sunderland
2. Matthias Walkner +32:00
3. Gerard Farres +35:40
4. Adrien Van Beveren +36:28
5. Joan Barreda +43:08
