Sherco TVS rider Joan Pedrero finishes 8th, Oriol Mena of Hero MotorSports 9th

"He left very early this morning, at 3:30. He arrived very tired last night, it was not easy but he raced a very nice special. We had a lot of discussion last night, we are all here to finish strong! That includes the mechanics, they pamper the bike, and leave nothing to chance. We are doing everything possible to finish this Dakar.” said David Casteu, Team Manager, Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team.

The upcoming stage from Fiambala to Chilecito is also a marathon stage for motorcycle riders and will feature twists, turns and multiple stony sections.  Road book will be the only key to successfully finishing this stage.

Meanwhile, Hero MotoSports Team Rally’s rookie rider Oriol Mena continued his great form to finish the first leg of the Marathon and the 11th stage of Dakar 2018, at 9th position. This result puts him at 10th position in the overall rankings. 

Following a forgetful previous day, CS Santosh rode steadily to gain lost ground. He did well to reach the Fiambala bivouac and finish the stage at 33rd place, which takes him to the overall ranking of 34th at the end of stage 11. He will be aiming to improve his rankings further in the last few remaining stages.

For the bikes, Stage 11 was the first leg of the Marathon stage as they covered a liaison of 205 kms and a special stage of 280 km to camp overnight in the Fiambala Mountains.

The Stage left the riders without the assistance crew for the second time in the rally. Today they will be left to their own devices to tend to themselves as well as their bikes. The stage, challenged the riders with lots of lose sand and bit of soil.

Moving on to Stage 12 will take the competitors to San Juan and one more day closer to the finish line at Cordoba but not before their physical strength and endurance is put to test with many twists and turns and stony sections. With only 3 stages remaining now, the rally will look to get into the top gear with all competitors pushing hard to improve their positions.

Provisional Stage 11 Classifications

1. Toby Price                                      Redbull KTM Racing        KTM

2. Kevin Benavides                          Honda Factory Racing     Honda                                  

3. Antoine Meo                                                RedBull KTM Racing                        KTM      

8. Joan Pedrero                                Sherco TVS Rally Factory               TVS

9. Oriol Mena                     Hero MotoSports Team                                                    Hero MotoSports

33. C.S. Santosh                                Hero MotoSports Team Rally                      Hero MotoSports

Overall Provisional Classifications after Stage 11

1. Matthias Walkner                       Redbull KTM Racing                        KTM

2. Kevin Benavides                          Honda Factory Racing                     Honda

3. Toby Price                                      Redbull KTM Racing                        KTM      

10. Oriol Mena                  Hero MotoSports Team Rally                      Hero MotoCorp 

14 Joan Pedrero                               Sherco TVS Rally Factory               TVS

34. C.S. Santosh                                Hero MotoSports Team Rally                      Hero MotoCorp