- After the podium ceremony and the celebrations in Córdoba, today they leave for Spain.
- The riders will arrive at the Barcelona airport on Monday at 9:15 h. (IB0800).
- The Dakar surrenders to the global success of a private and modest structure.
January 21st, 2018
Córdoba (Argentina).- Gerard Farrés took a video of himself on his phone as he turned so that his followers could enjoy the festive atmosphere that surrounded him. One by one he approached all his teammates, presented them to the camera and highlighted their virtues as riders and as people. On the other side of the device, hundreds of fans laughed and shared the Manresan’s joy with the whole red team; Farreti cheered them on one by one at the top of his voice, all the friends who congratulated him. He needed to release the tension from these two incredibly tough weeks and take in the warmth of all his supporters, so distant, yet so close.
He enjoyed himself for several minutes, until Miguel Puertas prompted him to put aside the social networks and put his helmet back on because they were late for Dakar 2018’s final podium ceremony.
On a hot Argentinian night, hundreds of fans paid tribute to each and every one of the surviving warriors of the toughest motorsports event celebrated nowadays. The champions received glory in their own right, as Matthias Walkner and Carlos Sainz were crowned. Congratulations! Finally, the Rally’s whole caravan tipped their hat off to a team that has made history in recent years, standing up to the powerful factory structures, managing to overcome all adversities with amazing reliability, and above all, conveying the values that define the HIMOINSA Team: effort, solidarity and camaraderie. #FightingTogether is the battle cry of a formation that has stood out on and off the track for its team spirit.
Absent was Rosa Romero, who a few days back had to leave Argentina because of an unfortunate cut to her leg caused by the navigation instruments of her motorcycle. Of course, all the teammates mentioned her in their interviews as the only “blemish” in their summary of a Dakar which has left a rather sweet taste for the team behind Miguel Puertas.
Gerard Farrés says farewell to Dakar as a motorcycle rider and does so with the satisfaction which an honest sportsman deserves, a man who always gives his best effort and who stands up to adverse situations to be among the best on a daily basis: “I am very happy, we put it all on the line, we fought from beginning to end despite being aware of our limitations, we have overcome all the difficulties to reach the finish line and do it within the top five. This shows that last year’s third place last year was no coincidence and that we have been capable as a team to face Dakar’ best.”
Dani Oliveras, the “Coyote”, hugged his mechanic celebrating his sudden appearance among the cream of the crop. One of the revelation riders of the rally, benefitting from his trials background, playing a key role in the technical development of the motorcycles, and fast like few others, Dani uncovered his potential as a serious candidate for the honorary positions in future editions: “After several years of tackling diverse specific missions within the team, this year I was able to ride my own race and I am ecstatic with the result. I have learned the secrets of Dakar with this great team, to know when to push and when to conserve, holding the perfect pace and the cold headed navigation to be competitive.”
In a race where more than twenty riders were technically capable of fighting for victory, with a good handful of enduro and motocross world champions and several Dakar winners, Iván Cervantes is still an institution, and he was also happy even if the result is not what he expected: “I am very happy because this is the hardest Dakar I have raced, at first because of the fever that made me have a horrible time, then due to the crash that affected me throughout the rally and in the end because of that rear wheel breakdown which almost sent me home. That’s why when you overcome everything and you know what it took, reaching the finish line is a victory of its own… That is the beauty of this race.”
Finally, Marc Solà embraced Miguel Puertas, showing his gratitude for his trust in him as the latest addition to the team, and Miguel congratulated him for having done such a good job and having overcome all the setbacks: “It was a very hard rally, in all three countries we found incredibly challenging stages which we have still managed to finish. For me it was complicated since my crash in the marathon stage, but in the end fighting through the pain we have achieved the goal. It is not the same without Rosa, but this success is as much mine as it is a collective effort.”
The team will travel to Spain tonight, and the riders will land at the Barcelona airport tomorrow, Monday at 9:15. There, the media, supporters and of course their families await them, eager to embrace the victorious warriors. Congratulations Himoinsa Team!
Final Classification
1st M. Walkner (46: 06.01)
2nd K. Benavides (+16.53)
3rd T. Price (+23: 01)
5th Gerard Farrés (+1: 01.04)
9th Dani Oliveras (+2: 37.20)
19th Marc Solà (+5: 37.59)
29th Iván Cervantes (+9: 42.54)
*** Rosa Romero (DNF)
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE HIMOINSA TEAM
• This is some of the team’s data and the approximate resources used during these two weeks of racing.
Structure
14 Members
5 Riders
2 Trucks
1 Support Vehicle
5 KTM Bikes
Resources and Data
105 Litres of bike Engine Oil
392 Competition Tires
25 Brake pad sets
15 External Transmission sets
15 Clutches (for security)
70 Air Filters
15 Brake Discs
24 Rims
3.000 Zip ties
6.480 Litres of Vehicle Diesel
4.950 Litres of bike Gasoline
50 De-greasant bottles
1 Pallet of energy drinks
1.500 Litres of Water daily
196 HRT T-Shirts
35 Kilos of Pasta and Quinoa
2 Litres of Massaging Lotion
165 Hours of Assistance displacements
60 Hours of sleep in 15 days
* This is the year in which less spare have been used due to the shortage of crashes.
