Goncalves Secures 2nd Overall Spot for Team Honda in Dakar Rally, Laia Sanz Finishes in Historical 9th-Place

Honda Racing Corporation

Stage Report

Saturday, Jan 17th 2015

Dakar Rally   2015 Dakar Rally Stage 13   Paulo Gonçalves runner-up in the Dakar. An impressive Laia Sanz ninth   The Dakar 2015 ends after circling the loop and ending up back in Buenos Aires a fortnight later, bringing new successes for Team HRC. Paulo Goncalves finishes the world’s toughest rally in second place, while Laia Sanz breaks new ground with an unprecedented ninth place overall finish.   After picking up the world championship runner-up prize last October at the Morocco Rally, Portuguese ace Paulo Goncalves has once again pulled off another achievement for Team HRC. It was a display of grit, tireless effort, consistency and teamwork, which finally brought the rider’s Rally Dakar 2015 adventure to a close as runner-up in the final rankings.   Paulo Goncalves very nearly pulled it off in the world’s greatest rally challenge too. The rider had collected a total of 17 minutes of penalties, and eventually finished just 16’53” behind the eventual race winner Marc Coma.   Another of the big Team HRC success stories from this Dakar has been the astonishing ninth-place finish for a brilliant Laia Sanz. The Spaniard claims the best ever final position in the race’s female category.   Besides showing excellent riding dexterity and a true command of navigation aboard the Honda CRF450 RALLY, the athlete proved herself by finishing several of the special timed stages up among the top ten riders.   Noteworthy too, was the overall performance of Joan Barreda, with four stage victories, and always the man to beat at this Dakar 2015. The Castellon rider was unstoppable at the head of the race until stage eight, when extreme weather conditions at the Uyuni salt flats put an end to his chances of a win in the campaign. Barreda’s final overall ranking was an unjust 17th.   Helder Rodrigues has, likewise, been a cornerstone of the Team. In addition to two stage victories, Hélder finished in 12th place on the final leaderboard.   Honda South America Rally Team close their crusade after a valiant effort that sees Javier Pizzolito and Jean Azevedo take 19thand 22ndrespectively. HSA Rally Team offered crucial support to the riders of Team HRC throughout the event.   The rally came to an end in Baradero, with what had been planned as a 174 kilometre special, reduced by 73 kilometres due to the conditions, before the final connection phase brought the entourage into Buenos Aires, where the final ceremonial podium was held in Tecnopolis.

Paulo Goncalves 2nd +16'53 I think the whole team deserves this result, especially after all the hard work that they have done. All that’s needed now is to go one small step further and win the rally. We are well-prepared and on the right track. I’m pleased with the result, and I want to thank the whole team, but most especially my team-mates Joan, Hélder and Jere, who were there to help me out in the most delicate moments. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be on the podium here in Dakar.

Laia Sanz 9th +2:24'21 I’m very happy. Really! If they had offered me a top-ten finish before the race, I would have signed. Many said that it was plausible, but the Dakar is a highly-unpredictable, difficult and risky race. You’ve got to have your wits about you all the time. It’s a great result that I want to share it with the whole team, who have put their trust in me from the first moment, giving me this great chance, and also with the fans and followers who been with me all the way through. ¡Muchas gracias!

Helder Rodrigues 12th + 4:00'15 For me the Dakar has been a bit unlucky I couldn’t really do much due to a couple of setbacks, but I’m pleased all the same, not just for the two stage wins, but most of all because Team HRC has made the podium with Paulo. The squad has worked really well together and now we are off to begin preparing the next one.

Joan Barreda 17th + 5:54'35 After the problems in the marathon stage, I think that we made a great team effort and have got a good final result. I was leading the race for a few days and I won four stages, and I don’t think there’s much more I need to show. The thing that I’m most proud of is Paulo’s result. He really deserves it.

Javier Pizzolito 22nd + 6:22'16 The last day was in keeping with the rest of the Dakar and was full of surprises. It started to pour and that complicated the stage. At the end of the Dakar, you are left with the feeling that you didn’t achieve the goal. But I think that in the race that we had planned out, we showed great character, consistency and got a decent final result.

Yoshishige Nomura HRC President Unfortunately, we were not able to win overall, but our riders and team members have made an excellent effort, and we won second place on the podium. I'm really proud to their professional work. I also appreciate all the rider’s great support in helping to get Paolo onto the second step of the podium. I'm very disappointed that we will have to wait another year for a first place on the podium of the Dakar. Anyway, our challenge at the Dakar continues. Lastly, I’d like to wish all the riders and team staff a good rest. Thanks for a job well done!

Results Stage 13 Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 JAKES Ivan SLO Microstep Industry Team KTM 52'06 2 SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM + 0'45 3 PRICE Toby AUS KTM AUS Rally Factory KTM + 1'07 4 GONCALVES Paulo POR Team HRC Honda + 1'15 5 COMA Marc SPA KTM Red Bull Rally Factory KTM + 3'11 6 VOGELS Hans NDL Team Hans Vogels KTM + 3'36 7 VERHOEVEN Frans NDL Yamaha Racing Yamaha + 4'35 8 QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI KTM KTM + 4'52 9 DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Xavier de Soultrait Yamaha + 5'54 10 SANZ Laia SPA Team HRC Honda + 7'55 11 PAIN Olivier FRA Yamaha Racing Yamaha + 7'59 12 CASTEU David FRA Team Casteu KTM + 8'16 13 GYENES Emanuel ROU Autonet Motorcycle Team KTM + 8'35 14 PLANET Fabien FRA Sherco Rally Factory Sherco + 9'13 15 CECI Paolo ITA Chavo Salvatierra Racing KTM + 9'19 16 PIZZOLITO Javier ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda + 10'48 17 AZEVEDO Jean BRA Honda South America Rally Team Honda + 16'21 18 RODRIGUES Helder POR Team HRC Honda + 35'32 19 BARREDA Joan SPA Team HRC Honda + 42'44

Rider Standings Final standings Dakar Rally 2015 Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 COMA Marc SPA KTM Red Bull Rally Factory KTM 46:03'49 2 GONCALVES Paulo POR Team HRC Honda + 16'53 3 PRICE Toby AUS KTM AUS Rally Factory KTM + 23'14 4 QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI KTM KTM + 38'38 5 SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM + 44'17 6 FARIA Ruben POR KTM Red Bull Rally Factory KTM + 1:57'50 7 CASTEU David FRA Team Casteu KTM + 2:00'14 8 JAKES Ivan SLO Microstep Industry Team KTM + 2:18'18 9 SANZ Laia SPA Team HRC Honda + 2:24'21 10 PAIN Olivier FRA Yamaha Racing Yamaha + 3:09'09 12 RODRIGUES Helder POR Team HRC Honda + 4:00'15 17 BARREDA Joan SPA Team HRC Honda + 5:54'35 19 PIZZOLITO Javier ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda + 6:22'16 22 AZEVEDO Jean BRA Honda South America Rally Team Honda + 6:44'13

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Videos These videos are available on YouTube although may be unlisted. Team HRC Dakar Rally 2015 - Stage 12 Team HRC Dakar Rally 2015 - Stage 12 - Behind the Scenes

Location Information   The greatest and toughest rally in the world, the Dakar’s history has been written in the heart of some of the world’s most stunning deserts and belongs to the world of the greatest sporting challenges of our time. Both a motor race and an orienteering challenge, the Dakar Rally pits…read more.