Stage 7 of the on-going 2019 Dakar Rally was a loop around San Juan De Marcona that had the competitors riding their motorcycles for a total of 323km through varying tracks. The first 100 kilometres comprised of fast off-road sectors where the fast riders were in their element. However, right after the fast section, the riders had to be deal with fesh-fesh followed by rough tracks on the plateau sector, slowing down their pace. For the next 50 kilometres, the surface gradually changed to sand dunes which later transitioned to faster stretches towards the end of the stage. An action-packed stage with lots of challenges, here are some images from Stage 7 of the rally.
Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team, hailing from the USA performed well in Stage 7 acquiring overall lead back in the rally.
Hero MotoSports Team Rally’s Oriol Mena managed a good run securing 13th position in Stage 7 and overall rankings. Inspite of injuring his hand and knee in the previous stage, Oriol pushed hard in the initial part of the stage but as the conditioned turned windy and dusty, he had to ease off a bit.
After securing a lead in Stage 6, Pablo Quintanilla Rockstar Factory Racing had to settle down for 14th position in Stage 7 of the rally with 5th overall ranking.
Narrowing the gap in overall standings, Toby Price now stands only eight minutes behind race leader Ricky Brabec. Price completed Stage 7 of the rally in the eighth position and third overall.
Xavier De Soultrait representing Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team completed Stage 7 in seventh position and tenth overall ranking in the championship.
After receiving a 40 min penalty for missing out on a waypoint during Stage 6, Joaquim Rodrigues managed to carry out a steady run during Stage 7 of the rally, which allowed him to climb up a couple of places before settling down in the 26th position for this stage and 24th in overall rankings.
Last year’s Dakar champion, Sam Sunderland secured his second stage win in the rally and also moved up in overall rankings to the fourth position.
