The “original” winner of Stage 3 of the Dakar was Pablo Quintanilla, after managing to finish the day with a 1m38s advantage over the second-place finisher, Joan Barreda (Hero Motorsports). However, long after crossing the finish line, the Chilean was penalized by six minutes, dropping from first to seventh.
This was supposed to be the third victory for the Monster Energy Honda Team in this edition of the Dakar, and before learning about the loss of the first position in the stage, #7 reacted like this: ‘It feels good to win another stage of the Dakar. It was a very tough stage, it was long. The first part was very complicated on the rocky tracks, but I feel good. I feel good, with a good pace, a very good feeling with the navigation.’
Later, he met up with other riders and ended up in the lead, but he reminded himself that this is ‘just the beginning’:
– I caught up with Luciano [Benavides] around the 80-kilometer mark, then Nacho [Cornejo] after the refueling, and from there we started riding together, some kilometers I was in the lead, then some kilometers he was in the lead. So, we managed to improve the pace. I’m very happy. I think every day the feeling is coming with the speed and the rhythm. It’s great to win another stage of the Dakar, but it’s just the beginning. We have a long race ahead.
The 37-year-old pilot continued: ‘So far, the first three stages have been very tough, very long, with very rough terrain and very complicated navigation. This year there are some sections where you really have to concentrate on the distance, otherwise it’s very easy to get lost at the waypoint. We think we’re right, but after a few kilometers we realize it was the wrong point. We have to ride with a lot of concentration on the roadbook. It’s always a pleasant feeling, after a lot of hard work over many years and my first Dakar. I’ve been through a lot here – good moments, bad moments, injuries, victories – but that’s how the race is. I love this racing feeling and when you have a stage like this it’s super enjoyable. We feel that all the hard work is paying off, so it’s good.’
