Day 5 saw rain cut the race from 447km to 219km of the special stage, but the results were just as entertaining. The hero of the day was undoubtedly Sam Sunderland, who now gives KTM new hope for the 2017 Dakar after Toby Price's challenge to retain his crown was cut short.
Pablo Quintanilla, the previous leader, lost a lot of time with a navigational error. This also cost him the lead; he now is 20 minutes behind Sunderland in the overall standings. Paulo Goncalves deserves a mention, too, because he now stands 68 minutes behind the leader - and you then realise that he was penalised an hour on the previous day for refueling outside the stipulated zones. Adrien van Beveren on a Yamaha had a good day, finishing third on the stage and also third overall. He is 16 minutes back. Xavier de Soultrait has gone a little quiet, but he still remains 36 minutes behind. Overall, there are two KTMs and Yamahas each and a Huskie all within sight of overall victory. Exciting times lie ahead, that's for sure.
Hero MotoSports' Joaquim Rodrigues finished the day 11th, which is now his overall result as well. His teammate CS Santosh is riding a conservative race and finished the day 60th. This brings him to an improved 70th overall.
Day 6 is a somewhat special one - there's sand dunes to deal with, the visit to Lake Titicaca (which is the largest lake in South America, and the highest navigable lake in the world at 12500 feet) and best of all, the next day will be a rest day in La Paz, Bolivia. CS Santosh will require his headlamps to work for him, since his late start means he's going to ride into the night.
Day 5 results:
1. Sam Sunderland
2. Paulo Goncalves +7:07
3. Adrien van Beveren +7:29
4. Juan Pedrero +9:40
5. Franco Caimi + 12:13
Overall results after Day 5:
1. Sam Sunderland
2. Pablo Quintanilla +12:00
3. Adrien van Beveren +16:07
4. Gerard Farred +20:57
5. Matthias Walkner +29:01
