Making light work of the 2018 Dakar Rally’s first long special stage, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Pablo Quintanilla claimed a solid sixth place result. Two stages into this year’s event and the Chilean rally star is currently placed fifth overall, less than six minutes behind the provisional class leader. 

Everything went to plan for Pablo in the dunes of Peru. Putting in another solid performance in Sunday’s stage two, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider brought his FR 450 Rally machine home inside the top six for the second consecutive day. Enjoying a good feeling on his bike, Pablo is looking forward to tomorrow’s even longer stage. 

Making some good progress and continuing his apprenticeship in rally racing, Dakar Rally rookie Andrew Short wrapped up the stage in 25th position. Currently 25th overall, the acclaimed US racer remains focused towards his major goal of reaching the finish line in Córdoba. 

Stage three of the 2018 Dakar Rally include hundreds of racing kilometres in the massive sandy dunes of Peru. Starting the stage early tomorrow morning, competitors will contest a timed special of 296km in a total distance of 501km towards the finish in San Juan de Marcona. 

Pablo Quintanilla: “I am quite happy with my result today after such a tough stage. I felt a little ill this morning but tried my best to get through it. I got into a good rhythm at the beginning of the day but by the end I was feeling a little tired and lost some time. Despite not feeling 100%, sixth place is not too bad and it puts me in a good position for the start tomorrow. Today we were able to follow the tracks of the cars ahead of us so navigation was not too difficult. Tomorrow will be a lot tougher, so I just need to focus and try not to make any mistakes."

Andrew Short: “It was the first long stage of the Dakar and I’m happy we got through it without any issue. My strategy remains the same. I am doing my best to remain focused on navigation while trying to make sure that I avoid mistakes. It’s all been going good so far and I feel that I’ve learnt a lot already. Tomorrow we will contest one more long and demanding stage in the dunes of Peru.” 

2018 Dakar Rally – Stage One Provisional Classification 
1. Joan Barreda (Honda) 02:56:44 
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 02:59:38 
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 03:01:08 
4. Michael Metge (Honda) 03:01:23 
5. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 03:02:27 
6. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 03:02:29
… 
25. Andrew Short (Husqvarna) 03:18:15 

2018 Dakar Rally – Provisional Overall Standings After Stage 2 
1. Joan Barreda (Honda) 03:28:36 
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 03:21:06 
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 03:23:26 
4. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 03:23:40 
5. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 03:24:20 
6. Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) 03:24:58 
… 
25. Andrew Short (Husqvarna) 03:44:01