Another stage of this Dakar is completed and among the Portuguese representatives on the track, Rui Gonçalves was once again the fastest in Stage 9.
The Portuguese rider from Sherco Rally Factory finished just outside the top ten, finishing 11th in the stage that connected Hail to Alula (with a 417km Special), taking 4h49m55s to reach the finish line.
Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) was the second best, finishing in 25th place (5h22m29s), while António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha) was 29th, taking 5h29m18s to complete his day.
Next was Mário Patrão (Crédito Agrícola mariopatrao.com/Honda) in 31st to close the group of Portuguese riders who have already finished the stage.
There is currently no data available for Alexandre Azinhais (Club Aventura Touareg/KTM).
With another day of competition completed and looking at the changes in the overall classification, there are some alterations. António Maio dropped from 17th to 18th, Rui Gonçalves moved up two positions from 26th to 24th, while Mário Patrão and Bruno Santos swapped positions: Santos is now 29th and Patrão is 30th.
Portuguese riders in Stage 9:
11th Rui Gonçalves (Sherco Rally Factory): 4h49m55s (+ 13m19s)
25th Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna): 5h22m29s (+ 45m53s)
29th António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha): 5h29m18s (+ 52m42s)
31st Mário Patrão (Crédito Agrícola mariopatrao.com/Honda): 5h32m25s (+ 55m49s)
*Alexandre Azinhais (Club Aventura Touareg/KTM)
Portuguese in General:
18th António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha): 45h55m59s (+ 5h02m10s – 28m30s penalty)
24th Rui Gonçalves (Sherco Rally Factory): 47h23m09s (+ 6h29m20s – 15m00s penalty)
29th Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna): 48h53m04s (+ 7h59m15s – 40m00s penalty)
30th Mário Patrão (Crédito Agrícola mariopatrao.com/Honda): 49h02m54s (+ 8h09m05s – 38m00s penalty)
*Alexandre Azinhais (Club Aventura Touareg/KTM) may not have completed the Stage at the time of writing this piece
