The resident finished his 18th Dakar in 28th place, Coma fifth fastest motorcyclist

Due to heavy rain and consequently deep and slippery mud on the route, the organizer interrupted the final stage after the second checkpoint. The resident finished his eighteenth place in the Dakar Rally in 28th place out of 79 motorcyclists who reached the finish line. With the fifth victory, Coma brought KTM its fourteenth uninterrupted victory in the rally. Goncalves with Honda and newcomer Price are also on the podium.

The organizer of the Dakar Rally interrupted today's stage after the second checkpoint due to heavy rain, which turned the terrain into a barely transportable mud bath, thus shortening the 174-kilometer speed test by half. This year, the only Slovenian racer at the rally, Miran Stanovnik from Log near Brezovica, finished the speed test with the 27th fastest time and thus ranked 28th in the overall standings. After reaching the finish line, the 27-year-old Stanovnik said: “I am overjoyed that I managed to reach the finish line. The race was an extremely strenuous test for man and technique, moreover, there has never been such fierce competition. When I spoke to one of the Commissioners yesterday, he was visibly surprised by the result. I am also satisfied with the ranking among the thirty fastest. If he had been six seconds faster, he would have finished in 32th place, and with a time 26 seconds better, he would have equaled last year's ranking in 18th place. But because I am aware that I drove every kilometer to the best of my ability, I don't bother with that. ”At the same time, he thanked everyone who helped him achieve this result, including the many fans who watch the race on TV or computer screens. The resident reached the finish line twelve times in his XNUMX appearances, this year's result being the eighth best in his career.

With prudent and constant fast driving without major mistakes, Marc Coma won the motorcycle class. With his fifth personal victory, he brought his employer, Austrian KTM, the fourteenth consecutive victory and equaled the number of victories with his former teammate and longtime rival, Cyril Despres. Coma: “I am happy and proud. The rally was as busy as ever. The tire problem in the second stage slowed us down a bit in the overall standings, so we had to change our strategy and make up for lost time since then. We knew they were going to be key marathon stages and they really were. I am overjoyed with the team and the people around me. The fifth win says a lot about all of us. ”Coma also congratulated both competitors from the Honda team, Joan Barred Bort and Paul Goncalves:“ They were tough opponents. The level of the race was high, which gives the result even more weight. "

In addition to March, Paolo Goncalves (Honda) and the surprise of this year's Dakar, Australian enduro rider Toby Price (KTM), took the podium.

Miran Stanovnik is returning to Jože Pučnik Airport on Monday at 17:15 pm, when we will have a long conversation with him and find out something more interesting from the background of the 2015 Dakar Rally.
Final results - Dakar 2015
Motorcycle
1. Marc Coma (SPA, KTM), 46:03:49
2. Paolo Goncalves (POR, Honda), +00: 16: 53
3. Toby Price (AUS, KTM), +00: 23: 14
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHIL, KTM), +00: 38: 38
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK, KTM), +00: 44: 17
6. Ruben Faria (POR, KTM), +01: 57: 50
7. David Casteu (FRA; KTM), +02: 00: 14
8. Ivan Jakes (SVK, KTM), +02: 18: 18
9. Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert (SPA, KTM), +02: 24: 21
10. Oliver Pain (FRA, Yamaha), +03: 09: 09
...
28. Miran Stanovnik (SLO, KTM), +07: 52: 46

Car
1. Al-Attiyah / Baumel (Mini), 40:32:25
2. De Villiers / Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +00: 35: 34
3. Holowczyc / Panseri (Mini), +01: 32: 01

Trucks
1. Mardeev / Belayev / Svistunov (Kamaz), 42:22:01
2. Nikolaev / Yakovlev / Akhmadeev (Kamaz), +00: 13: 52
3. Karginov / Mokeev / Leonov (Kamaz), +00: 51: 00

Quad
1. Rafal Sonic (POL, Yamaha), 57:18:39
2. Jeremias Gonzales Ferioli (ARG, Yamaha), +02: 54: 50
3. Walter Nosigla (BOL, Honda), +03: 42: 56