- The HIMOINSA Racing Team riders get through the rally’s first stage without setbacks and keeping up with the pace at the front.
January, 2nd 2017 – Resistencia (Argentina). After New Year’s Eve, with Dakar 2017’s opening ceremony, the HIMOINSA Racing Team left behind Asunción and Paraguay to take on the first stage of the race. Beforehand, the route shoudln’t entail great difficulty with a timed section of only 39 kilometres, followed by 300 km of transfer which took the riders to their first objective in 2017, in Resistencia, Argentina. An itinerary which was mainly high-speed, although slightly rougher than predicted by the routebook, as there were some added obstacles in the form of soft, wet patches, which were unexpected due to the condition of the rest of the terrain and the high temperatures in this region.
With such a short timed section, the result of this first stage was quickly determined, with two of the members of the Spanish team within the top ten: Gerard Farrés was ninth and Iván Cervantes, tenth. The perfect way to start the rally and get rid of the pre-race nervousness. Antonio Gimeno, loyal to his consistency, ranked thirtieth, while Dani Oliveras wasted no time in placing himself within the top half of the rankings. As for Rosa Romero and Antonio Ramos, they secured a safe start to the rally, with no setbacks.
Gerard Farrés: 9th
“This stage was perfect to get the ball rolling as we were all so eager to get on the bike. Straightforward, fast and fun. Nevertheless, any overconfidence could be costly in some wet areas, as I experienced when my bike sunk into a soft pit which I expected to be harder. Anyways, starting off in ninth place is a great result considering that time differences were minimal.”
Iván Cervantes: 10th
“Really good feeling overall, although I felt the added pressure of the first stage. I think I could have gone faster, but the main thing today was to get rid of the nerves and avoid any problems. In fact, I was not expecting to end up within the top ten with the pace I held, so it was a nice surprise to see myself in that position after the first stage of the rally.”
Rankings : Stage 1 – Overall
- Gerard Farrés (+00.31)
- 10th Iván Cervantes (+00.46)
- Antonio Gimeno (+02.08)
- 36th Dani Oliveras (+02.30)
- 100th Antonio Ramos (+07.11)
- 120th Rosa Romero (+08.08)
Next stage: Resistencia – San Miguel de Tucumán (Special: 284 km – Total: 812 km)
The second stage in Dakar 2017 will be the first to put the rider’s resistance to the test, with 284 km of timed special from a total of 812 km, finishing in San Miguel de Tucumán. All this, once again, under Argentinian summer’s intense sun.
