8 things you need to know at Dakar’s half-way mark

1. Toby Price has broken his femur into four pieces
“It’s a long road ahead, but we’ll be back,” said Toby Price when he posted an image of the x-ray of his badly broken left femur. Price hit a rock at 90km/h just 45km from the finish line of the fourth stage. He had a commanding lead and was set to take his second stage win of the 2017 event — but fate had other ideas.

2. Britain’s Sam Sunderland leads the way
Price’s Red Bull KTM teammate Sam Sunderland is currently leading the overall standings. The British rider jumped from third to first after keeping a level head during the fifth stage, the same day which caused havoc for the top five riders who all struck navigational problems in the high altitude. He finished the 219km special, which was shortened due to bad weather, just over seven minutes faster than the next placed rider and currently leads the overall rankings by 12 minutes over Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla from Chile.

3. A mechanical issue sidelined Rod Faggotter
Despite suffering a road crash during day two’s link section which left the Aussie with hand, arm and shoulder injuries, it was a mechanical issue which forced Aussie off-road star Rod Faggotter out of this year’s Dakar. “I started [the day] well, I was feeling okay and reasonably strong,” he said on social media. “Then wham! The bike stopped on a high-speed straight. While watching everyone ride past I tried everything to fix this bike with the tools I have. [I took the] seat, tanks and electrics all off and I eventually found a broken item which nobody has ever seen happen”. Philosophical, the Aussie summed it up well: “Weird shit happens at Dakar,” he said. Faggotter is going to hang around in South America and play wingman to Price, who is still laid up in a foreign hospital.

4. Todd Smith is the highest-placed Aussie
With both Toby Price and Yamaha’s Rod Faggotter both out of contention, Australia’s hopes are pinned on Todd Smith (KTM) and debutante Matthew Hart (Husqvarna). After suffering a 22-minute time penalty on day two dropped the 31-year-old Aussie from 20th place in the overall rankings down to 45th, but has since fought his way back spectacularly. After strong few days, including a 13th place on day four and 15th place on day five, the KTM rider is currently ranked in 17th place overall with one week to go. Hart has ridden consistently well during the first week though a blow on the weather hampered day saw the 34-year old finish the stage 109th quickest which dropped him from 46th place to 62nd in the overall standings.

5. The highest placed Honda is 10th
Despite KTM’s No. 1 rider out of the running, Honda’s determined effort to finally topple KTM from its run of 15 consecutive Dakar Rally victories in 2017 isn’t looking good. While Spaniard Joan Barreda enjoyed an 18-minute lead in the overall ranking at the end of the third day, two days later the highest placed Honda rider was Paulo Gonçalves (Portugal), 1h08.21s behind the leader in 10th. The blow to the HRC-backed squad came on the fourth day, when four out of the five factory riders got slapped with a one-hour time penalty after navigational errors forced Barreda, Michael Metge (France), Gonçalves and Ricky Brabec (USA) to all refuel in a prohibited zone.

6. Only 111 of 167 motorcycle entrants remain
Price and Faggotter aren’t the only competitors who will leave South America disappointed this year. At the mid-way point, the two-wheel field is already 56 competitors lighter than when it began on January 2.

7. Christian España Muñoz is leading the Unassisted Category
Twenty two motorcycles have entered the 2017 Dakar Rally’s Malle Moto (Unassisted) category and, as the name suggests, is the category which stays truest to the event’s heritage and where riders are unassisted by a support crew and must complete the toughest off-road race in the world on their Pat Malone. At the half-way point, it’s 36-year old España Mañoz who leads the Malle Moto category riding a KTM. It’s his second time competing at Dakar.

8. Someone will celebrate an historic maiden Dakar win
Price not only lined up at this year’s Dakar Rally as the race favourite, but he also lined as the only rider to have previously stood on the top step of the podium of world’s most dangerous off-road race. With the Aussie now out of contention and laid up in a La Paz hospital bed with a broken left femur, it means the 2017 Dakar Rally will be ushering in a new era of winner in the motorcycle category. Who will it be?

2017 DAKAR RESULTS