The 360km timed special stage 8 of Dakar began on Tuesday and Adrien Van Beveren of Yamalube Yamaha Rally was among the first wave of competitors to set off.
Considering the demanding navigation of this stage, Van launched an attack with the goal of moving even higher in the provisional overall rankings. However, he ended up losing some time to his main rivals and posted the sixth best time for the day. Currently, he sits at the fifth place in the provisional overall standings. And is less than 10 minutes behind the provisional overall leader.
Speaking about the stage 8, Adrien Van Beveren, said, “Today I decided to attack more than any of the previous stages and it didn’t work to my advantage. The race is very intense and I knew that if I didn’t attack my chances for the win would be possibly less. Navigation was tricky and I lost time trying to find some waypoints. At the end of the day, I lost a little bit more than 10 minutes to the leaders. It’s not exactly the result I was looking for, but we’re not done yet. My day might not have been so good, but we still have two stages to go. I will continue giving my best until we cross the finish line in Lima.”
Xavier de Soultrait, Yamalube Yamaha Rally other rider, entered the stage 8 on his WR450F Rally machine looking for another good result. He pushed harder and battled through the technical terrain and demanding navigation of the stage. In the end, Xavier claimed a 10th place result for the day moving up to 8th place in the provisional overall standings. Xavier is optimistic that with two stages left, he can climb even higher in the overall results.
“It was another long and difficult day in the fesh-fesh and the sand. My bike has been running great since the start of this rally and this gives me extra confidence to push. My results from these last couple of stages have made it harder for me to battle for the podium in Lima. Nevertheless, I will continue my battle until the end. We still have two long stages to race and my goal is to get as high as possible in the overall. I remain calm and I’m ready for the penultimate stage tomorrow. This Dakar has been a great experience for all and we will keep working hard until we reach Lima”, said Xavier.
Stage 9 of 10 of Dakar includes a 313km timed special and the total distance to be covered is 409km. It will again see riders start in big waves.
