- The Manlleu native held his own in a nail biting final stage in which he tied with his oponent.
- The Himoinsa Racing Team is once again crowned as the best Spanish team in the World’s toughest race.
Buenos Aires (Argentina)-. Shedding tears of joy and hugged by his teammates, Gerard Farrés could not hide his emotions while through his mind went many years of hard preparation in search of his objective: “I have no words to explain how this feels, all the memories of ten years of Dakar Racing, of hard work, from when I was nobody or riding for “Chaleco”…Wow! I’m just delighted, I owe this to this awesome team I am a part of, to these guys (hugging Gimeno, Oliveras, Romero, Ramos and Cervantes), who have given me everything to make it to where we are”.
Farrés and Van Beveren took care of putting on the final show in Dakar 2017. The third position on the Buenos Aires podium depended on just a few seconds and only 63 kilometres of fast tracks, two great riders would give everything to see who would take home the glory. So close was the fight, that after the whole special, their time was exactly the same and they both tied for first place in the stage, which goes to show that they left nothing on the table. The Himoinsa Racing Team supported Gerard during the whole special, placing his assistants Dani Oliveras and Antonio Gimeno at the different checkpoints to cheer him on and inform him about time differences and assist him in case of any problems. “It was a great reward for all of our work, it was a very tough Dakar, with a lot of suffering, but this is well worth it all.” Commented Antonio Gimeno, who completes yet another Dakar and does so in a meritory 23rd position.
The Himoinsa Racing Team, undoubtedly the best private team in the world as well as the best Spanish squad, stood out from the rest once again in this Dakar 2017. Last year they reached a milestone by getting all their components to the finish line of the world’s hardest challenge, although this year it was not possible due to unfortunate mechanicals which took down two of their riders; experienced Antonio Ramos due to electrical issues and multiple time enduro World Champion, Iván Cervantes, due to breaking a wheel; nevertheless, the Murcian team has once again put the icing on the cake for the Spanish fans with a podium in reward for the hard work and team spirit of an exemplary structure. As well as Farrés with his third place and Gimeno’s solid finish, Dani Oliveras landed his best result ever in the rally, finishing within the top twenty and proving himself as one of the revelations in the race. Rosa Romero also surprised everybody with yet another Dakar completion, overcoming all the difficulties and setbacks without her companion since the second stage, proving that an amateur woman, with a great fighting attitude, can strive towards such a great accomplishment.
“Fighting Together” was the Red Army’s war song for this race, a motto which is summed up in the collective hug at the end of the race and in Farrés’ statement moments before setting off on the last liaison towards the Argentinian capital and that elusive and well deserved podium: “This is not an individual achievement, this is for all of us. Now I remember all the sponsors who helped me when I was nobody, my family, my friends and this huge team, private, but with endless ambitions, in which everybody does their best at their jobs in this incredible race called Dakar”.
Congratulations Gerard, you earned your glory!
STAGE
2nd Farrés 0:00 behind
81st Romero 18:45 behind
85th Oliveras 21:00 behind
90th Gimeno 26:09 behind
GENERAL
3rd Farrés 35:40 behind
19th Oliveras 3:59:57 behind
23rd Gimeno 4:39:15 behind
80th Romero 18:51:48 behind
