A torrid day of going in circles for Ricky Brabec on Dakar's Stage Five
By Andrew Hill on 7th Jan 21
Ricky Brabec had a torrid day of going in circles, leaving the defending champion with frustration on the fifth stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally.
It was a complicated day for both Joan Barreda and Ricky Brabec. Although the pair started the morning 43 minutes apart, the duo of Monster Energy Honda Team riders dropped several minutes in some of the more navigationally taxing sections. In the end, the American finished 12 minutes behind Benavides with the Spaniard coming home 19 minutes adrift of the winner.
After Stage Four was happy with the strategy but after today's fifth stage he was left to rue that decision. Yesterday we had an idea to start at the rear," said Brabec. "I dont think that it was a very good idea."
"Today I lost the way and wasnt trusting myself, I was second-guessing myself. I fell a little far back. It would have been really easy to follow tracks, but unfortunately we went into an area that was solid rock and I couldnt really see the tracks, so it was really tough.
"I got to one spot and there were six guys sitting around lost and doing circles. From that point, I went on and opened up one way point, but couldnt find the next one after that. I started second-guessing myself and doubting, and those guys were following me."
Brabec felt like the title was spiralling from his grasp but he is trying to stay in a positive mindset. "It was just a big catastrophe out there," he added. "We lost a lot of time and I didnt really know what to do. I was thinking, This is it. I just ruined the Dakar. I feel like maybe the dream has crashed, but theres still a lot of racing to do. Hopefully, something will turn around and go in our favour. Now we dont really know what will happen."
Joan Barreda: "We predicted that today's stage would be complicated and it was. We started first and the opening kilometres were difficult: there was some navigation between the mountains and a lot of rocks and it was hard to find the route. In the more open parts we had a complication and had to go back and find the CP again. From that point I joined the other riders and we stayed quite close together. In the final part of the dunes things got quite hard it became very physical. It was tough, but I think we did the best we could. We are adapting, but it is difficult to keep such a high pace with such confusing navigation."
Tomorrows sixth stage will precede the rest day in Hail and will feature a special taking place 100 per cent in the sand, with significant dunes that could cause some thrills and spills. Competitors can expect long day with 448 kilometres of special stage. Once back in Hail, riders will have completed a total days stage of 618 kilometres.
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