Peterhansel grabs overall lead in cars at Dakar Rally

A 63-year-old Bolivian man was killed on Saturday during the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally motor vehicle race.

As a result, Price took command of the overall standings with a lead of 2:05 over the Honda rider from Portugal. This gives the American rider his best stage result to-date in the Dakar and moves him inside the top-10 to eighth overall.

“In the middle of the stage on the off-piste area with a lot of bumps I had a crash”, he said.

Goncalves was three minutes behind Price for the stage when a branch pierced his radiator on the first leg of the marathon stage, where riders are not allowed assistance from their crew or access to parts.

Navigation got tougher for the riders in Dakar Rally Stage 8, which took them into the dunes for the first time in the rally. He is also one of the few leading riders not to incur a time penalty for speeding in non-timed section.

“Finally, I got another puncture and we had to change a second wheel”. It’s great to keep an eye out for others. “In the end I’m happy to have finished well and tomorrow will be another day”.

The Australian cautiously confirmed that he was getting more comfortable and more confident with the navigation but underlined that there was still a long way to go to the finish at Rosario.

At this point in time according to the official daily race report (that you can read in bold below), Goncalves will be given a group time along with all the riders who made it through to check point two and will be able to continue in the race if he can fix his damaged bike. I think we’re cruising along alright, so we can’t complain. It’s far from over, a mechanical or a navigational mistake can destroy everything.

“My goal is to finish the race and get a podium spot”, Price said. We’re in first at the moment, but anything can happen between now and then.

2016 Dakar Rally: Toby Price in action on day six. “Our objective was to get to the rest day in a good position”.