Today's special stage was supposed to be 404.2 km with 218.65 km of liaison, and for the cars, T3, T4 and trucks, 347.57 km, with 216.17 km of liaison. However, the surprise came as soon as the motorbike riders reached the first refuelling point, at kilometre 101, where they were informed that the rest of the special stage had been suspended. This is the second consecutive day in which part of the special stage has been shortened for safety reasons. The conditions on the track were very difficult after the four-wheeled vehicles had passed, and they considered it too dangerous to continue.
Despite this change, the FN Speed Team riders successfully completed the time trial, which was only a quarter of the planned route, and which put the riders' more enduro version to the test, a very favourable style for the four of them. Daniel Nosiglia finished 25th, whilst Joan Pedrero finished two positions behind him in 27th and remains 21st and 24th in the general standings respectively. The Canet rider was one of those who opposed the neutralization. Chilean Pato Cabrera felt comfortable despite the difficulties of the stage and finished 48th, while Marc Calmet finished 52nd, 46th and 63rd overall.
Quotes from the riders:
Daniel Nosiglia #54: "I liked this style of stage, more technical, with a lot of rocks, but we were going very well".
Joan Pedrero #17: "The track was destroyed, but that's how the Dakar is. It's not all about racing at full throttle and going flat out. It's clear that safety comes first, but we're used to going out very fast, and the Dakar isn't like that. There are days when things like that happen, and you have to take advantage of it. You slow down, you adapt and that's it. I don't think they should have shortened the stage".
Marc Calmet #108: "The first part was fast, although there was a bit of fesh fesh. The second part had a lot of stones, a much more enduro style, and it's something that suits me. In the last 20 kilometres before the first refuelling, it was very complicated because of the cars and trucks that came through yesterday. There were a lot of stones under the sand, and that's very dangerous when you're riding at 140 km/h. Today it was important to save the day and not crash".
Pato Cabrera #50: "Today we had to take it easier than usual because there were a lot of dangers, but I felt good in the first kilometres. I would have loved to do the whole route because it was a technical one. I like the rocks, it was an enduro type of day".
