Michael Docherty claimed his first Dakar stage win on Wednesday. In the tenth stage, the rider was the fastest across the dunes of the Empty Quarter, beating Rui Gonçalves (Sherco) by 1m20s. He currently sits 15th overall.
The BAS World KTM rider told the event’s official site: ‘I enjoyed being back in the dunes. That’s kind of what I’ve been waiting for all Dakar, is the dunes. Even though it was a short one, it was nice to get back to it. I had one crash, which hurt my shoulder a little bit more, but I just pushed through and I was just trying to make my best time today. At least try to get something good out of this Dakar, like a stage win’.
This victory means Docherty will lead the way tomorrow, a challenge he is excited about: ‘I don’t have anything to lose. I’m happy to open up tomorrow. I enjoy doing navigation in the dunes. So, I’m looking forward for that experience and one more big day to go’.
The South African also commented on the soft sand encountered in these dune stages: ‘There was a lot of soft patches that were catching you out quite a bit. Like you’ll be riding and all of a sudden just soft sand and you get thrown against the bars. So yeah, you have to really be careful with that. I think tomorrow is going to be even worse. So yeah, just going to have to ride my own pace and enjoy it’.