Dakar day 4 – Simon Pavey Blog

Six times Dakar veteran Simon Pavey secured his best result in the Rally Special Stages so far, of 48th position and moved up 20 places to 65th overall in the motorcycle category.

Day four of the Rally featured the shortest distanced Special Stage – originally 459km and reduced to 380km due to Rally administrative reasons.

Racing from Jacobacci to Neuquen in Argentina, 444 crews including 182 motorcyclists, 24 quads, 160 cars and 78 trucks experienced rocky passageways, Argentinean “rios” and small sections of sand riding.

Writing for MCN, Pavey said:

“I loved the riding we had today. If we had to do the same style of riding every day, I would be a very happy man. The route had a bit of everything – twisty mountain passes, steep banks, a few fast tracks and just beautiful riding. It was a proper Rally stage.

“I loved every minute of riding my BMW G 650 Xchallenge. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind a quad rider who was riding with a couple of bikes which delayed me a bit. But luckily when we arrived in a small town they went one way and I went the other and then I had a clear run.

“I found a small crack in my radiator and my bike was leaking water, so I had to stop a couple of times to refill it. As I rode to the end of the Special Stage, I was riding down a dry river bed and there were thousands of spectators lined up along the banks cheering everyone on like we had just finished the Rally.

“Then I found a local man with a hose and tried to ask him in my poor Spanish to put water in my radiator. We were crowded by around 40 or 50 people and he must have thought that I had asked him to wash my bike and he started to clean it. I just laughed and then pointed to my radiator. It was hilarious!

“Tomorrow we will experience the first sand dunes of this Rally. It is starting to turn into a real Rally now. Technical riding and navigational skills are essential to get through the next few days.”

Stage 4 results – Day 4 of 16

1. Marc Coma – Spain                                                           04:09.32
2. Cyril Despres – France                                                                    +00:01.17
3. Jonah Street – USA                                                            +00:01.21
26. Stanley Watt – GBR                                                             +00:41.07
30. Mick Extance – GBR                                                             +00:44.04
48. Simon Pavey – World of BMW – Australia/GBR                  +01:02.57
77. Craig Bounds – GBR                                                           +01:24.18
107. Ewan Buchan – GBR                                                                   +01:53.02
127. Jonathan Stamper – GBR                                                    +02:16.12

Motorcycle Overall Results – Day 4 of 16 – 166 finishers,

1. Marc Coma – Spain
2. Jonah Street – USA
3. David Fretigne – France
20. Stanley Watt – GBR
28. Mick Extance – GBR
65. Simon Pavey – World of BMW – Australia/GBR
102. Jonathan Stamper – GBR
116. Craig Bounds – GBR
121. Ewan Buchan – GBR