Cycle News

have done. All that's needed now is to go one small step further and win the rally. We are well prepared and on the right track. I'm pleased with the result and I want to thank the whole team, but most especially my teammates, Joan [Barreda], Hel- der [Rodrigues] and Jere [Israel] who were there to help me out in the most delicate moments. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be on the podium here in Dakar." "So this one's for them. And we'll try again next year." Behind the battle for the lead, KTM's Dakar freshman Toby Price was in a late-race battle with Pablo Quintanilla for the final podium position. Quintanilla was hell bent on maintaining his third- place spot, but was hindered by illness in the last few stages. Price added a stage win to his maiden Dakar effort by topping the field on the Stage 12 special. "Being here in third place is insane!" Price said. "I'm at a loss for words. When I decided to sign up three or four months ago, I was quite nervous; I didn't know what I was getting into. And now I'm on the finish line… happy." Another revelation of this year's Dakar Rally was HRC's Laia Sanz who finished a remarkable ninth overall in her fourth attempt at the world's toughest race. "I'm very happy. Really!" said Sanz. "Many said that [a top-10 fin- ish] was plausible, but the Dakar is a highly unpredictable, difficult and risky race. You've got to have IN THE WIND P24 your wits about you all the time. It's a great result that I want to share it with the whole team, who have put their trust in me from the first mo- ment, giving me this great chance, and also with the fans and follow- ers who have been with me all the way through." Oliver Pain rounded out the top-10, also making Yamaha's presence known in the top ranks. Yamaha can likely chalk the 2015 up to a growth year, though they had hoped to have a stronger showing in Dakar. "To finish a Dakar is always an achievement, and to finish in the top 10 is something to be proud of," said Pain. "Of course, we came here with the intention of challenging for the victory, so from that point of view, my result is a disappointment. The base of the WR450F Rally is clearly good and the engine is strong and reliable, but the bike is ef- fectively brand new and we still need to develop it further if we are to realize its full potential." Most of all, Honda and the HRC squad feel there is a lot left on the table, and has declared as a team and as a brand, "We will be back." "We are on the podium and we haven't been there for many years," said Team HRC Gen- eral Manager, Martino Bianchi. "We've shown everyone the po- tential of this project. The bike is very fast and the team is working very well and our riders are able to win this. We had a few unlucky situations, but we won seven out of 13 stages and we won these with three different riders." "We are looking forward to coming back at the next one even stronger," added HRC Team Manager Wolfgang Fisch- er. "Next time we will do it in the second week the way we did in the first week." Jean Turner PHOTOGRAPHY BY HRC The HRC team had some tough luck at the Dakar Rally, but Paulo Goncalves' second-place finish was a proud accomplishment for the entire Honda team.

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