INDIA in F1

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  • Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja safe after a big crash

    Gap (France), 24 Jan 2020: Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja crashed during the fourth special stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo (SS4 Saint-Clément – Freissinières) on Friday morning.

    The Estonians, driving the #8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, went off 9.2 kilometres into the 20.68km stage. The driver and co-driver were both able to exit the car on their own after the incident.

    Tänak and Järveoja have been taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, as is standard procedure following a crash of this nature.

    Hyundai Motorsport will provide any further updates in its end-of-day rally report.

    The crash video here. (courtesy Tomi T Twitter @T_Tuominen )

     

  • Final MotoGP calendar for 2020

    Following is the final MotoGP calendar for 2020

     

    Date                        Grand Prix          Circuit

    8 March                 Qatar*                 Losail International Circuit

    22 March               Thailand              Chang International Circuit

    5 April                    USA                        Americas Circuit of the Americas

    19 April                  Argentina            Termas de Rio Hondo

    3 May                     Spain                     Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto

    17 May                   France                  Le Mans

    31 May                   Italy                       Autodromo del Mugello

    7 June                    Barcelona            Catalunya

    21 June                  Germany             Sachsenring

    28 June                  Netherlands      TT Circuit Assen

    12 July                    Finland**            KymiRing

    9 August                Czech Republic                 Automotodrom Brno

    16 August             Austria                                 Red Bull Ring-Spielberg

    30 August             Great Britain      Silverstone

    13 September     San Marino         Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli

    4 October             Aragón                                 MotorLand Aragón

    18 October           Japan                    Twin Ring Motegi

    25 October           Australia              Philip Island

    1 November        Malaysia              Sepang International Circuit

    15 November      Valenciana         Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo

     

    * Evening ** Subject to FIM Homologation

  • Ogier leads his first shakedown in the Toyota Yaris WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown

    Ogier leads his first shakedown in the Toyota Yaris WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown

    Sebastien Ogier and J Ingrassia during shakedown in the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo on Jan 22, 2020. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

    Monte Caarlo, 22 Jan 2020: Sébastien Ogier recorded the fastest time in shakedown for Rallye Monte-Carlo: his competitive debut behind the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC. Two-thirds of the team’s all-new line-up featured in the top three, with Elfyn Evans in third, while Kalle Rovanperä was seventh as he prepares for his first appearance at rallying’s highest level, a Toyota Yaris release says.

    The shakedown was held on a 3.35-kilometre stage close to the service park in Gap, with dry conditions giving the drivers a chance to get a good feeling with their machinery.

    Ogier recorded a time of 1m57.1s on his first run over the stage, with that time remaining unbeaten. Evans was just six tenths of a second slower with his best effort, set on his second run. Rovanperä also improved on his second pass, finishing less than three seconds behind his team-mates.

    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top 10 as he prepares for the first of eight events this season in an separately-run Toyota Yaris WRC.

    Quotes:
    Tom Fowler (Technical Director)
    “Going into our first rally with the new drivers, they were all pretty settled on their setups after our successful pre-event tests, so there wasn’t much to do from a setup point-of-view in shakedown. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather on the Monte, we have a few different settings for the car depending on the conditions, so we did change a few things during shakedown just to run the parts in anticipation of the different possibilities that can come up over the weekend. Everything went smoothly for everybody, and Ogier posted the fastest time with the first run. You can’t take too much from the shakedown results, but it’s always nice. The road was then getting muddy so it was difficult to take much from the later runs. But everyone is feeling confident, so it’s a good start.”

    Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
    “So far, everything is good and running like we were hoping. Shakedown doesn’t mean much and you don’t need to make any conclusions from the results, but it’s always a good sign if you are in the rhythm already. I’ve had the chance to have a good amount of testing already in the car before the start of the season. Of course, there are still some details to learn but the general feeling is there, and the sensations from the test came straight away here in shakedown. We can be confident heading into the rally, but this is probably the one rally of the season where you need to stay humble at the start as the conditions can make it so tricky.”

    Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
    “It was a really nice feeling to get started with the Yaris here in shakedown. I found a good feeling pretty much straight away. The car was working really well and I’m looking forward to getting going now. The shakedown was very dry to begin with, so I doubt it will be representative of the whole rally, but that’s typical Rallye Monte-Carlo. It would be nice if we can start the first stage with a clear, dry road, but I’m sure it will get interesting after that.”

    Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
    “It felt amazing to be in the car in shakedown. It was my first time back on asphalt after one month, and it was not so easy on the first run, but the second run was already better. The car was feeling really good and the setup also, and I think the small changes that we did in the test were now correct. There is still some work to do with myself for sure, but it feels good.”

    Shakedown times:
    1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1m57.1s
    2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +0.1s
    3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +0.6s
    4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1.2s
    5 Teemu Suninen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.3s
    6 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.6s
    7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2.9s
    8 Gus Greensmith/Elliott Edmondson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3.1s
    9 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +3.3s
    10 Takamoto Katsuta/Daniel Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.8s

    What’s next?
    The rally starts from Monte Carlo’s famous harbour on Thursday evening before two night-time stages en-route back to Gap. The first test, Malijai-Puimichel, is being run for the first time since 1994. The darkness and falling temperatures can often combine to make a particularly tricky start to the season.

  • Yash Aradhya honoured with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award

    Yash Aradhya honoured with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award

    Yash Aradhya receiving the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award from Honorable President of India Shri. Ram Nath Kovind on 22 Jan 2020. A Rashtrapati Bhavan photo

    New Delhi, 22 Jan 2020: Bengaluru’s Yash Aradhya became the first Indian motorsports star to win the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award here on Wednesday. Yash received the award in a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from Honorable President of India Shri. Ram Nath Kovind.

    The 17-year-old, who has been scorching race tracks ever since he turned 9, has 13 Championship wins, including over 65 podium finishes and 12 awards, to his credit.

    The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puruskar is India’s highest civilian honor bestowed upon exceptional students from various fields under the age of 18. Yash, along with the 49 other talented kids who have been hand-picked by an elite panel set up by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, will also meet the Prime Minister before they take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26.

    “I thank the Government of India for considering me worthy of this award and humbly accept it. It is a great honour to receive the award from the Honorable President of India and to meet the Honorable Prime Minister of India. I have been working really hard and after attaining considerable success at both international and national circuit, it really is very gratifying to be bestowed with this recognition,” Yash said shortly after receiving the award.

    “While I have had my share of success on the grid in the past few years this award will remain always special as this is not an achievement for me but for the whole fraternity. This award will inspire other young enthusiasts and they will push themselves more as they now would know that their achievement will be recognised,” he added.

    Coming from a humble background and no family history in motorsports, it has been a long and tough ride for Yash. He started his career in the JK Tyre National Go-karting Championship eight years back, racing for Akbar Ebrahim’s Meco Motorsports, and has steadily moved up, eventually making it to Formula Racing.

    He has taken part in international championships too, including the CIK FIA Academy Trophy in 2015 in Spain, Belgium and France. He was also nominated by FMSCI to represent India in the Rotax World Finals in 2017 to race in Portugal. In 2019, took part in the FIA Motorsport Games held at Rome.

    Yash debuted in the Formula-4 South East Asia Championship in the 2019 season and claimed first 2 podium finishes to underline his talent.

    “Indian motorsports is enjoying a great high. First, Gaurav Gill became the first from our field to receive the Arjuna Award; and now, Yash is being felicitated with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award. This is yet another great achievement for Indian motorsports and it is indeed a very proud moment for us. It feels really good to see that our hard work for over the years now is finally reaping rich dividends. Yash is a very talented driver and getting this award will definitely motivate him to reach greater heights in near future,” Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsports – JK Tyre, said.

    “We are very thrilled with Yash’s achievement. It has taken us lot of time to get the recognition that we deserved. But now with Gaurav and Yash breaking the glass ceiling, we are hopeful that many laurels will be won by our stars and people will start taking our sport more seriously as well as garner more mainstream attention,” Mr. J Prithiviraj, President of the FMSCI said.

    “Never judge a book by it’s cover Is an old saying. This certainly applies to young Yash Aradhaya. If one had to observe his mannerisms when he first stepped into a kids go kart, one may not have thought that he would raise up to the occasion to put himself In a position to be nominated for this prestigious award. But If one had a careful look at his eyes and the deep rooted passion conveyed through them, one would have certainly expected him to go a long way in his motor sporting career. Coupled with the support from his family and the never say die attitude of his doting father, Yash has had the opportunity to move up the tough ladder step by step and achieve remarkable results at every step. This Is just the beginning and with strong determination from him and everyone else around him, Yash could be well on his way to making a name for himself in the International arena of professional racing,” Akbar Ebrahim of Meco Motorsports and Yash’ mentor said.

  • WRC 2020 Calendar

    The FIA today announced a number of changes to the World Rally Championship calendar for the 2020 season, following an e-vote by the World Motor Sport Council last week.

    Following a request by the organiser of Rally Chile, it has been approved to withdraw this event from the 2020 World Rally Championship calendar.

    The date of the next event on the WRC calendar, Rally Argentina, initially scheduled from April 30 to May 3, has been brought forward by one week to allow additional time for the shipment of equipment from South America to Africa.

    The World Motor Sport Council also approved Wales Rally GB as the fifth and final round of the 2020 Junior World Rally Championship.

    The revised 2020 calendar, comprised of 13 rounds, is confirmed as follows:

    1. 26 January Rally Monte-Carlo
    2. 16 February Rally Sweden*
    3. 15 March Rally Mexico
    4. 26 April Rally Argentina
    5. 24 May Rally Portugal
    6. 7 June Rally Italy*
    7. 19 July Rally Kenya
    8. 9 August Rally Finland*
    9. 6 September Rally New Zealand
    10. 27 September Rally Turkey
    11. 18 October Rally Germany*
    12. 1 November Rally Great Britain*
    13. 22 November Rally Japan

    *Rounds that count for the FIA Junior WRC Championship

  • Ashish Raorane completes Africa Eco Race against all odds

    Ashish Raorane completes Africa Eco Race against all odds

    Ashish Raorane after crossing the finish line on Sunday. Photo courtesy Ashish Raorane team

    Dakar, 20 Jan 2020: The daring adventure of 38-year old professional Indian rally-raid rider, Ashish Raorane, ended in a dream finish as he completed the tough Africa Eco Race on Sunday. After completing the ninth stage in 54th overall position, the Indian took the restart and managed to rejoin the last stage, the famous beach stage, as the Africa Eco race allows a restart.

    The non-factory rider is self-funded for almost all of the events he has taken part and is attempting the Africa Eco Race for the first time. The Pune-based marine engineer has caught the attention of Luminox last year by his rally-raid exploits and is supported for the rally by the Swiss watch brand. Ashish was greeted by his wife and a few others as he celebrated with the Indian flag at the finish line in Dakar. Ashish was supported by Nomadas Adventure Racing Team of Switzerland.

    The last stage offered a real driving treat but had no effect on the general classifications this year. There was, therefore, good humour and spirit on the finish line, situated at the edge of the Erg at the village of Teverit, around 30km from Nouakchott in Mauritania. For the record, there was no suspense in the motorcycle category, as the YAMAHA of Alessandro BOTTURI left two minutes behind the KTM of Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER and quickly caught the Norwegian. As a result, 1min 59sec was added to the Italian’s lead and BOTTURI therefore wins this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE by 3min 59sec from ULLEVALSETER.

    Coming back to the Indian’s rally, after doing a superb job in the first leg, Ashish caught up with the reality of his adventure with a bike that did not have enough capacity for fuel when compared to the advanced bikes, and paid the penalty after a navigation error in Stage 10. At the half-way mark, before the rest day Ashish rode to a stunning 17th Overall rank but the final week saw him nurture the fuel and reduce speeds. He was ranked 54th in the 9th stage before missing two stages as he ended taking almost 31 hours to reach the bivouac after he ran out of fuel. Ashish Raorane was classiefied 57th in bike category after the 12th and last stage, the Beach stage.

    Ashish Raorane explained his tryst with the Africa Eco Race, that ran over 6,500 km, with 12 stages across Morocco, the Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal. The rally concluded on Sunday, Jan 19. Four days before the start of the rally, Ashish was in hospital after being down with dengue. But the rider in him took over and he started the rally against all medical advice but did a splendid job finishing with aplomb.

    “It took me 31 hours to get back to the bivouac, and so I missed a couple of stages. The Africa Eco Race allows restarts and that’s a great thing. Of course I picked up a lot of penalties but at least I am not out of the race. So, eventually, I did get to the ride the famous Beach stage at the Lac Rose in Dakar and cross the finish line of the Africa Eco Race at P57,’’ said Ashish. The rally runs in the original route of Dakar when it was run in Africa.

    “To say that the past weeks have been a roller coaster both physically and emotionally would be an understatement. I was in the hospital, four days before the race, wondering if I could make it to the start line and against all medical advice decided to go give it a shot,’’ he continued.

    “Against all expectations, the race started out pretty well. Though, I was struggling physically after having spent 10 days in the hospital, going into the rest day, I had a good feeling on the bike,’’ he added. Ashish was ranked overall 17th before the rest day.

    Mauritania, is where it started unraveling for the Indian rider. The Indian and his team realised that the fuel consumption on the bike in the soft Mauritanian sand was pretty high and that the rally-modified Enduro bike did not have the required fuel autonomy unlike a full-fledged cross-country rally-raid bike. He was astride a KTM 450 EXC, a 4-stroke enduro off-road bike, which has its limitations during long-distance riding on terrain full of piste unlike a KTM 450 Rally Replica which will cost a whopping Rs.23 lakh or so.

    The first stage in Mauritania confirmed this weakness. From there on, Ashish did manage his speed admirably to save the fuel. “On Stage 8 of the race, I made a navigation mistake early on going the wrong way, which further reduced my fuel autonomy. The stage was tough and, I was struggling through the dunes. At km 175 of the stage, the bike was buried in the dune. I was out of water and food, clutch issues crept up and I did not have enough fuel to reach the refueling point. I had to make one of the most-difficult decisions to call the PC course. Little did I know at the time that I would be spending the night in the dunes all alone but that is another long story, for another day,’’ the brave rider concluded.

    Ashish Raorane with his wife at the finish lane of Africa Eco Race in Dakar on Sunday. Photo AER
  • Imran Pasha of TVS Racing wins National title in Class 4: INRC for 2-wheelers

    Imran Pasha of TVS Racing wins National title in Class 4: INRC for 2-wheelers

    File photo of Imran Pasha from a round in 2019.
    Imran Pasha who won the National title in the Super Sport 260 class in Bengaluru on Sunday. Photo by Keshava Murthy

    Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha of TVS Racing astride an Apache RTR 200 hogged the limelight winning the honours in overall classification of the sixth and final round of the MRF Mogrip fmsci Indian National Rally Championship for two-wheelers held at Devanahalli, near here, on Sunday.

    The 2w-rally National Championship was organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) and promoted by Godspeed Racing under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci). With this win Imran Pasha is crowned National champion in Class 4 for Super Sport 260 bikes, even as his title rival, a privateer from Mangaluru, Adnan Ahmed, could finish only one stage and logged a DNF (did not finish).

    Another Bengaluru privateer Yuva Kumar was overall second followed by Sachin D, also of TVS Racing. Yuva Kumar, astride a Hero Impulse, also won Class 1. Ishan Chandra A of Mangaluru on a Hero Impulse clocked a commendable 56:25.5 to win Class 3 while another local lad Rakesh Kumar took Class 2.

    Top TVS rider and National champion Aishwarya Pissay won the ladies class with Ryhana Bee in second while Vijay Prasad of Bengaluru claimed the Star of Karnataka title, also finishing a creditable 5th overall with two compatriots Ansar Mohamed and Sanjay Somashekar finishing in that order.

    Imran Pasha with the Overall and Class 4 trophy on Sunday. Photo: AutoTrack

    Provisional final results (Round 6) (Privateer unless mentioned):

    Overall: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53min, 52.817seconds; 2. Yuva Kumar (privateer) 54:01.915; 3. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 54:25.149.

    Class 1: 1. Yuva Kumar (Pvt.) 54:01.915; 2. Nikhil B (Pvt.) 57:41.844; 3. Santhosh Kour (Pvt.) 1:15:44.990.

    Class 2: 1. Rakesh Kumar 1:00:01.575; 2. Ajin Abraham 1:01:55.919; 3. Azeeb Muhammed 1:03:35.736.

    Class 3: 1. Ishan Chandra A 56:25.520; 2. Pavan BK 58:40.028; 3. Francis PU 58:52.540.

    Class 4: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53:52:817; 2. Sachin D 54:25.149; 3. Samuel Jacob (TVS Racing) 59:18.346.

    Class 5: 1. T Vijay Kumar 1:05:23.335; 2. Uday Ganguli 1:13:45.510.

    Class 6: 1. Devaraj V 58:01.677; 2. Arun Joy M 1: 00:36.275; 3. Arvind Kumar Singh 1:14:11.931.

    Class 7: 1. Syed Asif Ali (TVS Racing) 1:01:41.731; 2. Pinkesh Thakkar 1:02:04.557; 3. Shamim Khan 1:02:26325.

    Class 8: 1. Aishwarya PM (TVS Racing) 1:06:06.791; Ryhana Bee A 1:08:15.208.

    Star of Karnataka: 1. Vinay Prasad 57:21.630; 2. Ansar Mohamed 58:19.685; 3. Sanjay Somashekar 59:05.447.

     

  • Final round of INRC for two-wheelers on Sunday

    Final round of INRC for two-wheelers on Sunday

    File photo of INRC action from a 2019 round. Photo courtesy KMSC release

    Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha from TVS Racing and privateer Adnaan Ahmed from Mangaluru will be fighting for honours in the Upto 260cc class in the Rally de Bengaluru, the 6th and final round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship for 2-wheelers 2019, here on Sunday.

    Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club and promoted by Promoted by God Speed Racing, Pune, the event has attracted 46 riders, including two ladies, from across India. The INRC for 2-wheelers will be flagged off at the Tribal Adventure Café, situated near Kundana in Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city. Two stages of 8-km each will be run thrice in forward direction cumulating to 168 kms including Liaison distance.

    Aishwarya Pissay, also from TVS Racing, who has already sealed the championship, will have National Racing champion in the ladies class, Ryhana Bee to fight in the last rally of the season. Suhail Ahmed, who has also sealed the championship in the Bullet class, will have a final go in the last round.

    A total on nine classes will be part of the event. For the first time in Indian Motorsports, three 2-wheeler `Trauma Ambulances’ will be part of the medical team, popularly known as BEAST, which is provided by Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Brookefield, Bengaluru.

    Shivu Shivappa, President, KMSC and Vice-President FMSCI, said that all arrangements are made for running the rally in a safe manner. “Safety measures are in place with adequate ambulances and highly-professional medical team and we look forward for good performances and crowning of the National champions,’’ he concluded.

    KMSC file photo 2019 action during INRC for 2w
  • Harith Noah completes Dakar Rally 2020 in Dakar Experience class

    Harith Noah completes Dakar Rally 2020 in Dakar Experience class

    Haradh (Saudi Arabia) 17 Jan 2020: Indian rider and Dakar debutante Harith Noah completed the Dakar Rally, albeit in a lesser Dakar Experience class for those who have not finished a stage, as the Keralite finished the 12th and final stage in a noteworthy 27th place as the 42nd Dakar Rally which was held for the first time in Saudi Arabia came to a conclusion.

    The Sherco TVS rookie was forced to switch on to the Dakar Experience category, a new class which was introduced this year to allow those who have not completed a stage to rejoin the rally and complete it. CS Santosh the first rider to take part in Dakar and who also became the first Indian to complete the Dakar Rally successfully had to withdraw from this year’s rally midway as his team Hero MotoSports took a decision to withdraw from the rally as a mark of respect to the Paulo Goncalves, who died following a crash in the 7th stage. KP Arvind of TVS Racing is the second Indian who has completed the Dakar Rally in 2019, in his third attempt, but had to pull out due to an injury, which gave Harith Noah a chance to make his debut.

     

    Harith Noah action on Day 2 finishing overall 65th on Monday. Photo by Sherco TVS Rally team
  • Harith Noah finishes Stage 11 in 25th position in Dakar Experience category

    Harith Noah finishes Stage 11 in 25th position in Dakar Experience category

    File photo of Harith Noah on Day 2. Photo by Sherco TVS Rally team

    Quddiya (Saudi Arabia), 16 Jan 2020: Dakar debutante Harith Noah of Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team did a commendable job in the 744-km penultimate Stage 11 of the 42nd Dakar Rally in the Bike category finishing 25th in the 100-rider field. The Indian will be looking forward to complete the last stage on Friday to become the third Indian to compete the Dakar. However, he is taking part in the Dakar Experience category after failing to enter the third stage due to a bike issue.

    But the new rule allows him to complete the rally. Noah timed 4 hours 48 minutes and 12 seconds to complete the 379-km Special Stage on Thursday.

    Meanwhile, the Empty Quarter, a vast expanse almost as big as France, boasts long, unbroken successions of dunes stretching for 80 kilometres. In contrast with yesterday, when the prevailing winds messed with stage 10 for cars, the weather today made the terrain far more hospitable as the increased humidity meant fewer competitors got stuck. The return trip to Haradh was raced at a much higher pace. This area serves as the crossroads from which the Dakar will leave the Empty Quarter and set course for Riyadh and Qiddiya.

    In the Moto class, Pablo Quintanilla left nothing in the tank. The Chilean pulled out all the stops to topple Ricky Brabec, claiming his second stage in three days by a few seconds ahead of Matthias Walkner, who also threw caution to the wind. However, the overall leader will start the closing stage of the Rally with a healthy margin, as will Ignacio Casale, who left the win to Rafał Sonik in the quad category.

    In the Cars category, Carlos Sainz seems to have the race in the bag despite Stéphane Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah unleashing their full might in a last-ditch attempt to claw back some time. While the Frenchman beat the Qatari by just a few seconds in today’s stage, it is Al-Attiyah who holds the provisional second place overall by a mere six seconds. The SSV race saw bigger gaps. “Chaleco” López put in a stunning performance today, but the overall is Casey Currie’s to lose. Meanwhile, Andrey Karginov added a new stage win to his tally as Kamaz blew the opposition out of the water with a 1-2-3-4 in Haradh.

    Performance of the Day

    The 25-year-old Jamie McCanney, racing in his first Dakar and second rally altogether, did not want to put the cart before the horse. The up-and-coming Brit, who caught the attention of Yamaha when he became junior enduro world champion, is getting stronger as the Dakar goes on, scoring his first top 7 finish yesterday before going one better on the road to Haradh, finishing in sixth place at only six minutes behind the winner. It was an auspicious performance by the Manxman, who is sitting within the top 15 overall within striking distance of the “best rookie” distinction.

    Star of the day: 80

    The number of stage wins by Stéphane Peterhansel in the greatest rally on Earth following his fourth triumph in 2020 in Haradh. The Frenchman, a six-time champion on a bike and seven-time champion in a car, has won 33 and 47 specials in these classes, respectively. He is the most prolific competitor in Dakar history by far. Trucker Vladimir Chagin, with 63 stage wins, is a distant second.

    Woman rider of the Day

    GasGas Factory Racing’s Laia Sanz took an important step closer to achieving her goal of finishing a 10th Dakar by completing stage 11 from Shubaytah to Haradh. Despite coming close to a fall, Laia finished the penultimate 379-kilometre special in a time of just over four-and-a-half hours, placing 18th for the day on her GasGas RC 450F.

    The 12th and final stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally takes place tomorrow, with competitors departing Haradh and racing north-west to the finish line in Qiddya. With a strong result on the 374-kilometre special Laia can progress into the top 15 in the overall event classification.

    Provisional results: Dakar Rally 2020, stage 11
    1. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 4:09:22
    2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 4:09:31 +0:09
    3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) 4:12:10 +2:48
    18. Laia Sanz (GasGas) 4:33:14 +23:52

    25. Harith Noah (Sherco TVS) 4:48:12 +38.50

    Provisional standings: Dakar Rally 2020 (after stage 11)
    1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 38:33:28
    2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 38:47:24 +13:56
    3. Toby Price (KTM) 38:56:02 +22:34
    17. Laia Sanz (GasGas) 42:19:43 +3:46:15