Dmitry Sotnikov is leading the charge for Kamaz
Russian trucker #dmitrysotnikov has already won more stages at this #rally than he had done in his previous four drives at the Dakar. Sotnikov has emerged as Kamaz’s lead driver and arrived to the Rest Day with a gap of 37 minutes to his team-mate Anton Shibalov in second place.
“We’re not just happy about our position, but also to see our team-mates in the podium positions. Right now we have a healthy gap to the rest. But we must be careful because maybe now we have tough week like our rivals have had and they have a good week like we’ve just had. Things can soon change at the Dakar.” – Dmitry Sotnikov
Sotnikov is now targeting a “balance between risk and speed” in the remaining six stages as he looks to defend top spot and win his first Dakar.
“This second week for us will be about finding a balance between risk and speed. Our teamwork inside the cabin was really good in the first week. On five of the stages we started first with no tracks to follow. My co-driver (Ruslan) Akhmadeev needed to find the right way and more often than not we got it right.” – Dmitry Sotnikov
Laia Sanz is staying positive
There was nobody more uncertain about whether or not they would take their place at the start of the #2021dakarrally than #laiasanz. The previous 12 months had been a long battle against injury and illness for the GASGAS rider. It’s a remarkable achievement that Sanz has reached the Rest Day bivouac of the Dakar.
“Of course in another year I would not be happy being 25th in the overall. However, after the year I had before this #rally I think I can be really proud and happy with what I did. I was not sure even one week before coming here that I would be able to do a single stage. I’ve done my best and I understand that this year it must be like this.” – Laia Sanz
Sanz’s achievements so far are particularly impressive given the physical nature of the majority of the stages that have come in this first week of the Dakar. As it stands, Sanz is on course to stretch her record of finishing every Dakar she has raced to 11 editions.
“Some days have been enjoyable and other days have left me so tired at the end of the stage. In these moments I have suffered because I was unable to train before the #rally. When this happens I just slow down and focus on getting to the finish. I always do my best to stay positive.” – Laia Sanz
Seth Quintero is making history
?Seth Quintero has made a habit of setting himself ambitious targets and then wasting no time in achieving them. Becoming the Dakar’s youngest ever stage winner was his top priority coming into his debut #rally and on Stage Six he made it happen.
“It’s been crazy since getting the win on Stage Six. I’ve had an overwhelming amount of support from everybody back home. It’s really hard to take it all in because there’s so little downtime at the Dakar.” – Seth Quintero
The rookie member of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team has used the Rest Day to put himself in the best possible shape to carry on attacking during the Dakar’s second week.
“Rest Day has turned into a catch up for us. All the stuff that we’ve wanted to do since getting here but haven’t really had the time. We’ve done a lot of cleaning up, a lot of organising, a lot of media. Basically getting everything in order to make sure we’re in good shape for the second week of this #rally.” – Seth Quintero
Daniel Sanders is taking it all in his stride
Dakar debutant Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders stunned the bivouac with a podium finish on the Prologue Stage in Jeddah. Now he’s followed it up with another third place and a runner-up finish on a couple of first week stages. At the Rest Day the rookie is 12th overall in the bike race.
“It’s been a really exciting first week and I’ve really enjoyed each day on the bike. The Top 20 is still really close and there’s a bunch of guys who are still fighting to win this Dakar. I’m doing my best to stay in the pack, get better with the navigation and judging the speed on the stage. It’s been an incredible week for me results wise. I’ve got a few Top 3s, but there’s also been a few days getting lost.” – Daniel Sanders
Sanders has been on a steep learning curve at his first Dakar thanks to his impressive stage results. He’s been among the pack leading out the stage on three occasions already and this has seen him taking up his fair share of navigation duties.
“Coming in for my first time the navigation has been tough at times. Because I’ve finished up at the front that means the following day I have to lead out the guys. That’s probably been the best way for me to learn. If you’re up front you’ve got no choice but to read the map rather than being at the back and following the tracks others have made.” – Daniel Sanders
The first week in numbers
286 vehicles started the #2021dakarrally in Jeddah last week…
231 of those vehicles have reached the Rest Day…
That’s 78 motorbikes, 14 quads, 56 cars, 49 lightweight vehicles and 34 trucks…
26 vehicles have exited the general classification, but rejoined the #rally under Dakar Experience rules.
There’s still 3,618 kilometres to go!
2021 DAKAR #rally STANDINGS
Cars
1. STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL (FRA) MINI 22:14:03
2. NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) TOYOTA +00:05:53
3. CARLOS SAINZ (ESP) MINI +00:40:39
?4. JAKUB PRZYGONSKI (POL) TOYOTA +01:11:36
9. GINIEL DE VILLIERS (ZAF) TOYOTA +02:12:12
17. CYRIL DESPRES (FRA) PEUGEOT +03:42:59
44. SEBASTIEN LOEB (FRA) HUNTER +11:42:36
Bikes
1. TOBY PRICE (AUS) KTM 24:08:43
2. KEVIN BENAVIDES (ARG) HONDA +00:02:16
3. JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO (CHL) HONDA +00:02:57
6. SAM SUNDERLAND (GBR) KTM +00:04:23
12. DANIEL SANDERS (AUS) KTM +00:18:01
14. STEFAN SVITKO (SVK) KTM +00:25:30
24. MATTHIAS WALKNER (AUT) KTM +02:11:37
25. #laiasanz (ESP) GASGAS +02:17:06
31. CAMILLE CHAPELIERE (FRA) KTM +03:42:08
??Lightweight Vehicles
?1. ARON DOMZALA (POL) CAN-AM 27:04:29
2. AUSTIN JONES (USA) CAN-AM +00:00:40
3. #sethquintero (USA) OT3 +00:08:26
4. FRANCISCO LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) CAN-AM +00:35:51
10. CRISTINA GUTIERREZ HERRERO (ESP) OT3 +02:05:20
Trucks
1. #dmitrysotnikov (RUS) KAMAZ 24:26:18
2. ANTON SHIBALOV (RUS) KAMAZ +00:37:34
3. ?AYRAT MARDEEV (RUS) KAMAZ +01:01:43
8. IGNACIO CASALE (CHL) TATRA +02:15:39
9. ANDREY KARGINOV (RUS) KAMAZ +02:24:20
