Another challenging day with two long liaisons and a very early, very cold start, for the first time the 2020 Dakar Rally challenged competitors with an all-sand special. Making some small adjustments to his bike ahead of today’s stage, Franco immediately found his form to pass the day’s first check point in third. Sixth through check point two, a consistent ride during the remainder of the stage saw him claim his highest finish of the rally to date, also breaking into the overall top 10 aboard his WR450F Rally.
Moving forward no fewer than four places in the provisional overall results, Jamie McCanney enjoyed his second-best day of the 2020 Dakar Rally so far. With his confidence building since the start of the event, following a strong fifth leg performance the Manxman delivered his best yet on the sands of stage six. Starting 19th, Jamie passed though checkpoints one and two 17th fastest before dropping a little time through check points three and four. Completing the second-longest stage of the event without problems, he ended the day in 20th and moves to 22nd overall.
With stage six now complete, Franco, Jamie and the entire Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team will enjoy a well-earned rest day ahead of another six stages of racing. With the race resuming on Sunday, January 12, stage seven incorporates the longest special of the 2020 Dakar Rally. Racers will need to rely on their navigational skills to tackle all 546 kilometres as they head south-west and away from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
Strong Stage Six Performance From Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Franco Caimi
Strong Stage Six Performance From Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Franco Caimi
Continuing to improve his speed during the 2020 Dakar Rally, Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Franco Caimi has placed seventh on stage six, the second-longest leg of the event from Ha’il to Riyadh. Completing the 477-kilometre, sandy special just over eight minutes behind the day’s fastest rider, Franco heads into tomorrow’s rest day having broken into the top 10 of the provisional overall standings.
7th Stage 6
It’s a great feeling to know that we are now at the rest day, it’s been a tough few days so far but importantly I am starting to feel better and better. Not just with my bike, but in terms of feeling confident with the conditions we have here. It’s not been easy to constantly keep changing to the different conditions, but today I felt really good. We made some small changes to my bike yesterday, which worked really well. Some rest is very much appreciated now, but my thoughts are already on next week. We all know that we have some tough days ahead, but I’m looking forward to them.
20th Stage 6
It was really good to start alone today, the first time for me so far in the race. Before today I’d always been starting together with another rider, which meant that I wasn’t really able to just think about myself. That was different today and I could really just think about what I was doing. Things went well from the start, I felt good. I got passed by a rider and followed him. I guess I wasn’t watching my road book as much as I should, because he made a small mistake and I ended up following him. I had some troubles getting a waypoint validated then, and lost five or six minutes, but the end result is one I’m happy with so a good day, generally speaking.
It’s been a positive day for our riders. It was a tough day, more than 470 kilometres, with a lot of sand. It was also a difficult and cold start to the day with a 180-kilometre liaison. Franco pushed really hard to get his seventh-place result. For him it is important to have this positive boost ahead of the second half of the event. Jamie also had a positive day and despite the long stage enjoyed the experience. It seems also that every day something significant is happening in terms of the top riders. So, we know a lot can still happen between now and the finish of the race. All the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team will enjoy some rest and prepare for stage seven on Sunday.
Stage 6 Provisional Classification
1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 4:36:28
2. Joan Barreda (Honda) 4:38:02 + 0:01:34
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 4:39:13 + 0:02:45
4. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 4:41:23 + 0:04:55
5. Luciano Benevides (KTM) 4:41:30 + 0:05:02
6. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) 4:41:44 + 0:05:16
…
7. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) 4:44:41 + 0:08:13
20. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) 5:02:34 + 0:26:06
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 6)
1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 23:43:47
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 24:04:43 + 0:20:56
3. Toby Price (KTM) 24:09:26 + 0:25:39
4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) 24:09:28 + 0:25:41
5. Joan Barreda (Honda) 24:16:45 + 0:32:58
6. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 24:17:26 + 0:33:39
…
10. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) 24:54:11 + 1:10:24
22. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) 26:45:55 + 3:02:08
Race Schedule
Stage 1 | Jan 5 | Jeddah to Al Wajh | Total: 752 km | SS: 319 km
Stage 2 | Jan 6 | Al Wajh to Neom | Total: 393 km | SS: 367km
Stage 3 | Jan 7 | Neom to Neom | Total: 504km | SS: 427 km
Stage 4 | Jan 8 | Neom to Al Ula | Total: 672 km | SS: 453km
Stage 5 | Jan 9 | Al Ula to Ha’il | Total: 564 km | SS: 353km
Stage 6 | Jan 10 | Ha’il to Riyadh | Total: 830 km | SS: 477km
Rest Day | Jan 11 | Riyadh
Stage 7 | Jan 12 | Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir | Total: 741 km | SS: 546 km
Stage 8 | Jan 13 | Wadi Al Dawasir to Wadi Al Dawasir | Total: 716 km | SS: 477 km
Stage 9 | Jan 14 | Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh | Total: 886 km | SS: 410 km
Stage 10 | Jan 15 | Haradh to Shubaytah | Total: 608 km | SS: 534 km
Stage 11 | Jan 16 | Shubaytah to Haradh | Total: 744 km | SS: 379 km
Stage 12 | Jan 17 | Haradh to Qiddiya | Total: 447 km | SS: 374 km
