#speedbrain

Riders will return to spend the entire duration of their rally on the dunes of Peru. For the first time, participants will be facing terrain made up of an overwhelming 70% sand. Having to deal with vast and open terrain makes navigation and endurance equally challenging, with the margins for error far smaller than on trails or dirt tracks. Of the 5000 km course, the special stages will take up more than half the distance, at 3000 km.

Siempre contendiente, sin suerte

Un joven Joan Barreda Bort pilota la Husqvarna N°23 del equipo Speedbrain en el rulo Copiapó-Copiapó del Dakar 2012. Barreda ha logrado 20 victorias de etapa desde su debut en 2011, sin embargo, su mejor resultado es 5° en 2017, y registra apenas otro Top 10 (7° en 2014).Tendrá otra oportunidad en el Dakar 2019 después de un abandono en 2018.

Hero Motosports Team Rally riders, Joaquim Rodrigues of Portugal and C.S. Santosh of India, had a satisfying start to the team’s Dakar debut. Rodrigues, who entered the first timed section in 27th place, made a blazing run to complete the 39-km special in 29 minutes 42 seconds, that put him in 16th place in the provisional general classification.

In contrast to Rodrigues’s opening blitz, Santosh preferred to make a conservative start. o-tone Santosh "Being the first stage of the Dakar, there were some nerves flying and I was pretty nervous at start. In the first couple of kilometers it took some time to understand the kind of stage it’s going to be for the next 40 km.

The German Speedbrain customer race team is well prepared for the challenge. Coming from an excellent rally season 2013, the five riders aboard the Speedbrain 450 Rally - a machine developed in the Bavarian town of Stephanskirchen - are eager to begin this unique motorsport adventure.

// <![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>

Post by Dakar Rally Raid Racing.