Stage 12 cancelled for bikes and quads at Dakar rally

The special stage 12 route has been canned for bikes and quads over safety concerns at the 2018 Dakar rally but trucks and cars will continue as planned.

The Fiambala – Chilecito – San Juan special stage was initially set for redrafts for bikes and quads classes in preparation for stage 12 but after a consultation of the riders at Fimabala’s bivonac the special stage has been cancelled by race direction.

Instead, the first bike will begin the liaison from Fiambala to Suan Juan’s bivouac at 6AM local time. Cars and trucks will continue with the full stage 12 as planned to meet the rally organsiers in San Juan.

A statement from Dakar rally organisers said:

“Following the study of the safety conditions for bikes and quads race tomorrow, despite a first modification of the stage announced this afternoon, having consulted the competitors groupped at Fiambala’s marathon bivouac, the Race Direction has taken the decision to cancel the 12th special stage for bikes and quads.

“The first bike will start the liaison from Fiambala to San Juan’s bivouac at 6 a.m. The cars and trucks race remains unchanged.”

As a result, bike category leader Red Bull KTM’s Matthias Walkner will retain his 32m00s lead over Mosnter Energy Honda’s Kevin Benavides with stage 11 winner Toby Price in third 39m17 off team-mate Walkner.

In the car category, Sainz has had his 10-minute time penalty revoked after an appeal which sees his general classification lead stretch to 1hr 00m45s over Peugeot team-mate Stephane Peterhansel. Sainz was initially handed the time penalty for a crash with a quad rider but after an investigation the Spaniard was cleared of any foul actions.