The fast and tricky Stage 4 kicked off the Marathon stage of Dakar, comprising a mix of soft terrain, fesh-fesh, gravel and rocky terrain. Making things even tougher was the fact that competitors could receive no assistance from their crew.
Sherco TVS’ Lorenzo Santolino continues to impress on his Dakar debut, with his aggressive performance landing him a 10th-place stage finish. He continues to hold on to 13th place in the overall standings.
Michael Metge had a small fall, but was able to get back on his bike without losing too much time and ended up with the 17th-fastest stage time. He has now climbed up to 26th, overall. Meanwhile, his brother Adrien Metge had a good start and navigated successfully to finish the stage in 21st place, securing 16th in overall rankings.
Aravind KP continued his steady journey towards the finish line and is now 64th in the general classifications after a 78th-place stage finish.
“Our team navigated their way successfully through this complicated stage on tricky terrains and this reassures me,” said Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team manager David Casteu. “I am confident that the team will push their limits and make us proud.”
Over at Hero MotoSports, Oriol Mena completed the stage at 11th place – 14sec behind Santolino – to hold on to 12th place in the overall rankings
Joaquim Rodrigues and CS Santosh took a more cautious approach and completed the stage at 30th and 51st, respectively, landing them at 31st and 44th, overall.
The second half of the Marathon stage will get underway tomorrow, bringing the competitors back from the Moquegua to the Arequipa bivouac.
Overall standings after Stage 4
Sherco TVS
13. Lorenzo Santolino
16. Adrien Metge
26. Michael Metge
64. Aravind KP
Hero MotoSports
12. Oriol Mena
31. Joaquim Rodrigues
44. CS Santosh
Overall
1. Ricky Brabec
2. Pablo Quintanilla
3. Toby Price