Laia Sanz completed Dakar’s SS9 – 886-kilometre stage from Wadi Al-Dawasir to Haradh
| LAIA SANZ FINISHES 23RD ON STAGE NINE OF 2020 DAKAR RALLY |
| PROCEEDING WITH CAUTION ON A LONG AND FAST STAGE, THE GASGAS FACTORY RACING RIDER EDGES EVER CLOSER TO THE EVENT’S FINISH |
Returning to racing following the cancellation of stage eight, which saw the 42nd Dakar Rally temporarily paused for all motorcycle class racers as a mark of respect to Paulo Goncalves who tragically lost his life on day seven, Laia Sanz has completed today’s 886-kilometre stage from Wadi Al-Dawasir to Haradh in 23rd position. A challenging day for all riders, an early start was followed by initial technical tracks before the special became a mentally draining day of high-speed riding. Laia completed the 410-kilometre special stage in a time of three hours and 48 minutes to finish 23rd and is now placed 17th in the provisional overall classification.
Laia Sanz: “Today has been a tough day, a very long day. I enjoyed the first part because it was really technical – you really had to work with your bike and get involved with the stage. The second part wasn’t for me – it was flat out for a long, long time. This isn’t for me – I didn’t enjoy it and just took it easy to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. I knew I was losing time, but I wasn’t going to take any risks. Tomorrow is the start of the marathon stage, which I hope goes better than the first one we had.” Tomorrow marks the beginning of the true marathon stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally and heads south-east to Shubaytah, featuring the second-longest special stage of the event at 534 kilometres. Provisional results: Dakar Rally 2020, stage 9 Provisional standings: Dakar Rally 2020 (after stage 9) |
