End of João Ferreira’s dream in the fight for victory in the Dakar 2024 in SSV. After winning the third stage in the category yesterday, the Portuguese lost over an hour in the ninth stage this Tuesday, due to technical problems in his Can-Am shortly after 40km. Cristiano Batista was the winner.
The Brazilian from South Racing Can-Am took 5h02m30s to complete the special stage, beating Xavier de Soultrait (Sébastien Loeb Racing Bardahl Team/Prodrive) by a clear 9m26s.
Gerard Farres Guell (South Racing Can-Am) finished third, 10m38s behind, and with only 12 seconds ahead of Jérôme de Sadeleer (MMP/BRP) – this after the Swiss was penalized by 20 seconds.
Yasir Seaidan (MMP/BRP) finished fifth. After the lost time, Ferreira – navigated by Filipe Palmeiro – finished only in 19th position, 1h19m59s behind the top. The Portuguese received a 15-minute penalty.
With three days remaining, de Soultrait solidified his lead in the overall classification: he now has a 28m16s advantage over Sara Price (South Racing Can-Am), who also significantly delayed in this stage. De Sadeleer is third, Seaidan is fourth, and Ferreira dropped from second to fifth. He is 1h18m14s behind the leader.
Top ten of Stage 9:
Top ten overall:
