Rallye

Van Beveren and Yamaha the big winners on Dakar stage 4

Defending champ Sam Sunderland crashes and is out for 2018

Posted:

Wednesday, January 10th, 2018

8:41 AM

Putting in a brilliant stage performance aboard his WR450F Rally machine, Adrien Van Beveren has won stage four of the 2018 Dakar Rally.

In doing so the Frenchman takes control of the event's provisional overall standings. Making the day even more special for the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team, Adrien's team-mate Xavier de Soultrait claimed the runner-up spot on today's stage to move up to a very strong fifth position in the provisional overall standings.

The big news of the day was that Sam Sunderland, the overall bike class leader of the rally going into today‰Ûªs stage, was forced to retire due to suffering back pain following a crash in the timed special.

"Unfortunately Sam had an accident today whilst searching for a waypoint around the 230km mark," Alex Doringer ‰ÛÒ KTM Rally Team Manager - explained. "He jumped into a hole and compressed his back. Although he was able to continue for the next five kilometres, he was then forced to retire when the pain became too bad. Initially he was airlifted back to the bivouac but was then taken onto the hospital in Lima for further checks. I managed to talk to Sam, before he flew to hospital, and although disappointed, he was still in good spirits.‰Û

Putting in a brilliant stage performance aboard his WR450F Rally machine, Adrien Van Beveren has won stage four of the 2018 Dakar Rally.

At the opposite end of the scale verything went according to plan for Van Beveren. Making full use of his advantageous starting position - within the second group of riders - he put his vast sand racing experience to good use. Remaining focused on his navigation and pushing hard until the very end, he completed the timed special stage five minutes faster than his teammate Xavier de Soultrait and a blistering seven minutes faster than the rest of the field.

Four stages into this year's Dakar Rally and Van Beveren is currently leading the overall standings by a little less than two minutes over his closest rival Pablo Quintanilla, who was 4th on today's stage. With still a long way to go in this 40th edition of the event, Adrien remains focused on the ultimate goal of making history by bringing Yamaha back to the top of the Dakar Rally.

"I am happy with the victory on this stage. We all started together on the beach and I was in the second group of riders to take the start. It reminded me a lot of the massive start in Le Touquet and it was great fun for me," Van Beveren said.

"I knew I had to stay focused on my riding and navigation and this is exactly what I did. We came across some parts where there was a lot of dust during the stage. My goal was to win it, so I knew I had to be patient and attack whenever that was possible. It all went well for me and I managed to pass many riders even from the first group. When we reached the big dunes we raced alongside Xavier and actually helped each other to the finish. It was a great day for me and a great day for Yamaha. We proved that we have a bike capable of winning long stages. There is still a long way to go but I will do my best to keep this momentum going."

Xavier de Soultrait enjoyed his best stage to date in this year's event making it a Yamaha 1-2

Fast from the get go, Xavier de Soultrait enjoyed his best stage to date in this year's event. Being among the first group of riders to take the start, the Frenchman found himself provisionally leading the pack, only to be passed by his team-mate Van Beveren after the halfway mark. Securing the runner-up spot of the stage, Xavier is now fifth in the rally's provisional overall standings, seven minutes and 34 seconds behind Adrien.

"We had a great stage today. I started in the first group of riders. I got a good pace right from the start and then after the halfway mark I saw Adrien was right behind me," de Soultrait said. "We raced for some time together and then he upped his pace and tried to make up some time. I did my best to follow him and this actually helped both of us in the final results. The last few kilometres were really fast and we had some great fun with Adrien. We've worked really hard during the season to be where we are right now."

Matthias Walkner dropped some time after getting lost in the deep dunes but came back for third on the stage. Photo: PhotosDakar.com / KTM Media Library

After leading the group at the beginning of the special, KTM's Matthias Walkner dropped some time after getting lost in the deep dunes. Eventually the Austrian managed to find his way and was then able to make up some of the time lost to the riders ahead. Crossing the line in third, Matthias was happy with his day, despite the difficulty of the stage.

"That was a really hard day. It wasn‰Ûªt what the riders expected at all after the mass-start on the beach," Walkner said. "Navigation through the dunes in the middle of the special was tricky and quite a lot of riders got lost. We ended up in a group of around 15, all trying to find one certain way-point. Eventually we got back underway but only after losing maybe 10 minutes on the front-runners.

"The dunes were especially difficult to ride today, there were so many soft patches and I ended up getting stuck four or five times," Walkner continued. "At one point I thought I wasn‰Ûªt going to be able to get going again, the bike was so buried. The last section of the stage was ok, I pushed on and came in third. It‰Ûªs not the best start position for tomorrow, but I‰Ûªm happy just to get to the finish today. I hope Sam is ok from his crash and he‰Ûªs not too badly hurt.‰Û

Pablo Quintanilla now finds himself placed second in the event‰Ûªs provisional overall standings after 4th on stage 4

Following yet another solid performance with 4th place for the stage, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Pablo Quintanilla now finds himself placed second in the event‰Ûªs provisional overall standings. Following a well-calculated plan of attack, the FR 450 Rally mounted rider is now one-minute and 55 seconds behind the provisional overall leader Van Beveren with 10 more stages still to be contested in this 40th edition of the event.

‰ÛÏIt was a tough day today but we managed to make the best out of it," Quintanilla said. "Following the massive start in the morning, initially we thought navigation wasn‰Ûªt going to be that difficult but we were wrong. After some kilometres, we realised that navigation was tough for everybody and the soft sandy dunes were not making it easier for us. In such conditions it is always tough to find the waypoints and select the best lines in the dunes. Nevertheless, it was a good stage for me. I lost a few minutes between kilometres 200 and 230, but the race was OK for me.

Having suffered illness before the Quintanilla felt much better today.

"I feel much better now with my stomach and I had a good dinner today," Quintanilla said. "Tomorrow is the last day in the Peruvian dunes so anything could happen. I know that if I keep calm and stay focused on my job, we can finish these sand stages with a good overall result."

KTM Privateer Stefan Svitko rounded out the top 5 for the day.

Toby Price had a mixed day finishing 15th but moved up to 6th in the overall standings. Photo: PhotosDakar.com / KTM Media Library

Australian Toby Price started in the first group away at the beginning of the special stage. Despite losing his way a little around the midway point, he was able to get back on track and arrive at the finish safely.

Price crossed the line in 15th position, 11 minutes down on the leader. This result moves him down to sixth in the overall standings, but the Australian is still confident for the rest of the race.

"That was the most difficult day so far," Price said. "We thought by starting in a group it would be like a nice day out riding with your friends but as soon as we got to the dunes, the going got really tough. The worst thing was the sand was really unpredictable ‰ÛÒ there were loads of soft patches that were hard to see and if you were the first rider to hit them you ended up dropping right back. The group I was in missed a waypoint so we lost a fair amount of time getting back on track. As a positive I finished the stage in one piece, I‰Ûªm in a good start position for tomorrow so I‰Ûªll crack on and see if I can claw back some time then.‰Û

Rodney Faggotter enjoying a mistake-free performance with 21st for the stage.

Enjoying a mistake-free performance, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's Rodney Faggotter has now made it into the top 20 in the rally's overall standings. Securing 21st on stage four, the Aussie racer is now 18th in the overall standings.

"I had a good day with no crashes," Faggotter said. "For me it was another normal stage, navigation was tricky in some points but it all went well and I made no mistakes. The beach start was pretty crazy but then I got off to a good pace, which I retained until the finish of the timed special. I had a lot of dust during the day so that was one extra reason to remain focused and not take any risks. The bike is running great and I'm looking forward to the coming days."

Leaving the San Juan de Marcona bivouac and heading south, competitors will have to race a 266km-long special stage on their way to the city of Arequipa tomorrow. The fifth stage of the 2018 Dakar Rally will be one more test for their strength and stamina as the race slowly moves towards the high fields of Bolivia.

2018 Dakar - Stage 4 Results - Tuesday, January 9th 2018
1 Van Beveren Adrien 4 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha 04:08'23
2 de Soultrait Xavier 23 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +05'01
3 Walkner Matthias 2 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +07'10
4 Quintanilla Pablo 10 CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +07'32
5 Svitko Stefan 9 SLO Slovnaft Team KTM +07'45
6 Oliveras Daniel 29 SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +08'39
7 Cornejo JosÌ© Ignacio 68 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +08'45
8 Benavides Kevin 47 ARG Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +09'14
9 Barreda Joan 5 SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +10'00
10 Farres Gerard 3 SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +10'11
11 Caimi Franco 7 ARG Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +10'23
12 Aubert Johnny 40 FRA Gas Gas Racing Gas Gas +10'24
13 Metge Michael 14 FRA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +11'17
14 BarragÌÁn Jonathan 60 SPA Gas Gas Racing Gas Gas +11'23
15 Price Toby 8 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +13'23
21 Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 04:25:49, +17:26
110 Scott Britnell (Aus)

Provisional Standings after Stage 4
1 Van Beveren Adrien 4 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha 11:03'23
2 Quintanilla Pablo 10 CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +01'55
3 Benavides Kevin 47 ARG Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +03'15
4 Walkner Matthias 2 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +05'23
5 de Soultrait Xavier 23 FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +07'34
6 Price Toby 8 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +10'14
7 Cornejo JosÌ© Ignacio 68 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +12'06
8 Caimi Franco 7 ARG Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +12'48
9 Farres Gerard 3 SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +13'05
10 Meo Antoine 19 FRA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +13'47
12 Brabec Ricky 20 USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +21'07
13 Barreda Joan 5 SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +22'08
18 Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 11:43:56, +40:33

Race Schedule - Dakar Rally 2018
Stage 1 | Complete
Stage 2 | Complete
Stage 3 | Complete
Stage 4 | Complete
Stage 5 | Jan 10 | San Juan de Marcona to Arequipa | SS: 264km | Total: 770km
Stage 6 | Jan 11 | Arequipa to La Paz | SS: 313km | Total: 758km
Rest Day | Jan 12
Stage 7 | Jan 13 | La Paz to Uyuni | SS: 425km | Total: 726km
Stage 8 | Jan 14 | Uyuni to Tupiza | SS: 498km | Total: 584km
Stage 9 | Jan 15 | Tupiza to Salta | SS: 242km | Total: 754km
Stage 10 | Jan 16 | Salta to BelÌ©n| SS: 372km | Total: 795km
Stage 11 | Jan 17 | BelÌ©n to FiambalÌÁ | SS: 280km | Total: 484km
Stage 12 | Jan 18 | FiambalÌÁ to San Juan | SS: 375km | Total: 722km
Stage 13 | Jan 19 | San Juan to CÌ_rdoba | SS: 423km | Total: 904km
Stage 14 | Jan 20 | CÌ_rdoba to CÌ_rdoba | SS: 119km | Total: 284km