It would be a huge upset if Price were to relinquish the lead from here, with his outright speed proving to be the quickest in just his second ever Dakar.
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In the auto section, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel won the 10th stage to give him the lead in the overall standings.
Toby Price rides on stage 12 of the Dakar Rally.
Rodrigues clocked the fastest time in Friday’s 481km special, 5hr 57min 24sec, in the 931km stage between San Juan and Villa Carlos Paz to finish 7min 32sec ahead of Price with Argentina’s Kevin Benavides third at 7min 55sec on a Honda. “We’re here at the finishing line and that’s the main thing”.
The 28-year-old from Singleton in NSW’s Hunter Region finished second in stage 12, enjoying a trouble-free ride to Villa Carlos Paz to finish seven minutes behind Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues.
While nothing is guaranteed in the Dakar, Price would need to strike navigational or bike problems on the final stage to be denied the race victory. Meo took the point from Quintanilla with his stage win today, but with less than two minutes separating the duo, the race for third is going to be heating up.
Price said the course was on sharp shale-like rock and at times it felt like he was riding on ice.
Mr Price said he hopes Australia is as proud of his son as he is. “My mistake was that I did a full doughnut on the dirt-bike and dropped the bike because it was full of fuel and pretty heavy and that resulted in bent handlebars, which I was annoyed about, but I’m glad to be here”. After that I had a big crash because I didn’t see well in the dust, but after the refueling I was better in the navigation and it was really great.
“Anything can happen, I’ve got to continue working”. I’ve got to do it nice and smooth, look after the bike and make sure we rest up enough.
American Ricky Brabec of Team HRC finished the stage in 17th and sits ninth overall entering the final day of competition.
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“If Toby can pull this off it’s going to be a fantastic achievement, and I hope Australia can get behind him and be proud of him”. Today I felt good, I was sore yesterday when I woke up feeling good and happy.
