The Spaniard Joan Barreda Bort (Honda) and the Algarve Ruben Faria (Yamaha) ended the prologue of the Dakar2016 rally tied today, by doing the same time of 00:06min27sec in the 11 km special, between Buenos Aires and Rosario.
While Barreda is all smiles, thanks to this feat in what is his first race as a driver for the biggest manufacturer in the world, his teammate, the Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves, had bad luck in the prologue.
A series of mechanical problems forced Gonçalves to make several stops on the 335km long link between Buenos Aires and Rosario, pushing him to 50th place, a minute behind Barreda.
The prologue also went well for Hélder Rodrigues (Yamaha), who finished in 3rd place, just 3 seconds behind the winners.
As for the other Portuguese riders, Mário Patrão was 33rd and Pedro Bianchi Prata 58th.
This Sunday, January 3rd, the 1st stage is disputed, between Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz. The bikes will cover a total of 632 kilometers, of which 227 will be in the special. The cars will cover a total of 662 kilometers, with 258 of special.
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