The Algarve driver Ruben Faria (Husqvarna) is «very satisfied» with the prologue of the Dakar2016, where he classified in 2nd place, with the same time as the winner, the Spaniard Joan Barreda, but warns that the rally "only starts in earnest" this Sunday, with the first stage.
“The rally only starts in earnest tomorrow [today, Sunday], but these results always give extra motivation to the whole team,” said the Moncarapacho driver yesterday.
Yesterday, Saturday, the Dakar2016 began, with a 357-kilometre connection between Buenos Aires and Rosario, during which the riders had to complete an 11-kilometre prologue to define the starting order for the 1st stage this Sunday.
Managing his progress to ensure a place in the top three, Ruben Faria secured second place, where he will start for today's stage.
Ruben Faria recalled: “I made my first Dakar precisely 10 years ago, so this year has a special meaning for me. I'm in a new team and with an ambitious and very well-designed project. We have our goals very well defined for this Dakar. The result I made today is part of a strategy, so I'm delighted to start this way».
Less lucky was Paulo Gonçalves (Honda), runner-up at the Dakar2015 and named one of this year's favorites. In the prologue, it did not go beyond the 50th place.
«I didn't go in with the right foot, I felt some problems and I chose to slow down the pace», said the Portuguese driver.
“The real Dakar starts tomorrow and that's where we have to be always well and without problems. I know this will be an extremely difficult Dakar, we have a huge number of riders aiming to win, but both me and the Honda HRC team have prepared well and are going to fight. That's what I can promise in this edition of Dakar2016», added Paulo Gonçalves.
Hélder Rodrigues (Yamaha), who finished the prologue in 3rd place, just 3 seconds behind the winners, says he is «motivated to start a great race that is expected to be very demanding».
As for the other Portuguese riders, Mário Patrão was 33rd and Pedro Bianchi Prata 58th. «I did my best, it was very dusty. In the end, I got the 33rd best time», commented Mário Patrão.
When it comes to cars, Carlos Sousa is the only Portuguese driver. Defending for the second consecutive year the colors of the Mitsubishi Brazil team, Carlos Sousa started this Saturday, in Buenos Aires, his 17th participation in a Dakar, the sixth in the current South American format of the competition.
As in 2015, when he took ASX Racing to 8th place in the standings, he will have fellow countryman Paulo Fiuza at his side, forming the only Portuguese duo to compete in motor racing, once again establishing a place in the final top-10 as his main goal, goal that Carlos Sousa has already achieved 11 times since his debut in the race in 1996.
For now, and having completed the first 11 kilometers of this 38th edition of the Dakar, Carlos Sousa's expectations remain intact, only this Prologue serving to define the starting order for this Sunday's stage and confirm the high competitive level of this edition : “The Prologues were never my strong point, but the result is clearly within what we had planned. We didn't risk anything! We were just concerned about not making mistakes and noticing if everything was fine with the car”, said the Portuguese driver, who secured the 18th best time among the 111 competitors who started the race in the automobile category.
Interestingly, Carlos Sousa repeated yesterday the 18th place he achieved in Barcelona precisely 11 years ago, the last time a Dakar also started with a Prologue.
Today, January 3rd, the 1st stage of the Dakar2016 is held between Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz, with a total of 632 kilometers, of which 227 kilometers of timed special.
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