Dakar 2007: Honda Press Release 15Jan

BETHYS AND KNUIMAN HOLD THIRD AND FOURTH OVERALL IN THE 450CC CATEGORY

TEUS VISSER

A number of riders arrived during the night at Tichit before restarting a new and difficult special stage to Néma. The track was tiring, because it was twisty and covered in soft sand, with the exception of the last 100km which were fast and relatively dangerous because of the number of stones. Thierry Bethys rode well to finish third in the 450cc category, ahead of Henk Knuiman.

Henk Knuiman

Chaleco Lopez took the rescue or sweep truck, which passed via Tidjikja. Along with several other riders, he will make his way to Dakar.

Chaleco Lopez

THIERRY BETHYS (FRANCE) N°85 : « I rode with Sala for a large part of the special stage. The track was sandy and not too fast except for the last 100km and Giovanni attacked. I had trouble following him and he arrived too fast and fell very heavily, dislocating his right shoulder. I stayed with him for about 15 minutes… »

PAULO CONCALVEZ (PORTUGAL) N°33 : « Yesterday, I broke the chain tensioner and I rode for two days like a liaison section and not like a special stage. It is already a feat that I am here now, I am taking it stage by stage. »

HENK KNUIMAN (BELGIUM) N°11 : «I rode all the special stage without a chain tensioner, because I had broken it yesterday and did not have any assistance. I was not able to go more than 100km/h and, every 50km, I stopped to adjust the chain and make sure it was in place. »

GREGOIRE BLONDEL

GREGOIRE BLONDEL (FRANCE) N°83 : « Yesterday, it was a good route, but in the evening I had an electrical problem and tried to do as much as I could, at night…Today, it was a long and tiring special stage and I had a good ride. »

EVERT KROON

EVERT KROON (HOLLAND) N° 208 : « Yesterday, we had many problems. Teus and Thomas broke their chain tensioners and Teus had many problems with the rear wheel. Me, I did not have much light and I rode for four hours in the dark, without lights. We arrived at 23.30hrs and were just so tired. Today, I wanted to return and I rode the last 100km alone. The other two had their problems with the chain, because we did not have any assistance in Tichit. »

450CC CLASSIFICATION ON THE STAGE (PROVISIONAL)

1. Rodrigues (Yamaha) 6h37’00
2. Marchini (Yamaha) 6h45’26
3. BETHYS (FRA) HONDA 6h46’31
4. KNUIMAN (HOL) HONDA 6h57’35
23. CONCALVEZ (POR) HONDA 8h10’27
27. BLONDEL (FR) HONDA 8h33’41
41. KROON (NL) HONDA 9h44’56

OVERALL 450CC CLASSIFICATION (PROVISIONAL)

1. Rodrigues (Por) Yamaha 39’34’31
2. Marchini (Yamaha) 40h14’33
3. BETHYS (FRA) HONDA 40h38’40
4. KNUIMAN (HOL) HONDA 41h08’45
15. CONCALVEZ (POR) HONDA 46h13’56
28. BLONDEL (FR) HONDA 54h57’14
41. KROON (NL) HONDA 60h21’36