With just two days remaining until the end of the 2020 Dakar Rally, Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team riders Jamie McCanney and his team mate Franco Caimi have both taken important steps towards successfully completing this year’s event, reaching stage 10’s overnight bivouac without troubles. Enjoying the shortened stage, Dakar rookie Jamie McCanney earned his highest stage finish of the event to date with a well-deserved seventh place result.
With riders allowed no outside assistance, and with the swapping of parts between teammates’ bikes forbidden, both Franco and Jamie will spend tonight away from their team yet together with all other competitors. Both riders reached the end of the first leg of the marathon stage and are now well placed for the penultimate day of competition in Saudi Arabia.
Another tough stage, despite being shortened due to adverse weather conditions and the fact that all medical vehicles were deployed, stage 10 saw Jamie and Franco successfully complete the 345-kilometre shortened leg aboard their WR450F Rally machines. Faced with some challenging navigation and off-piste riding, both settled into good rhythms but took no risks to ensure they arrived at the night’s temporary bivouac.
Earning his first ever top-10 Dakar stage result, Jamie McCanney was the 20th rider to leave the start and had worked his way up to 16th at the 87-kilometre mark. Dropping a few places by the 113-kilometre point, Jamie then stopped to assist an injured rider, losing considerable time, before completing the stage. With event organisers handing the lost time back to the Manxman, Jamie was awarded a seventh-place result. Together with teammate Franco, he also safely reached the end of the first leg of the marathon stage and now awaits the penultimate day of the event tomorrow.
Frustratingly for Franco Caimi stage 10 was somewhat compromised due to the Argentinian being unable to find one of the day’s way points. That, combined with the shortened stage that prevented him from claiming back the lost time, saw him end the day in 13th.
On stage 11, racers will embark upon a 379-kilometre special stage, which features an 80-kilometre leg across what the organisers are calling ‘the finest dunes of the entire rally’. At the completion of the stage, competitors will arrive in Haradh knowing that just one day of competition remains.
Alexandre Kowalski – Yamaha Europe Off-Road Racing Manager:
It was a great day for Jamie today, finishing in seventh position after his time was adjusted as he stopped with an injured rider. This is a great result for him and shows that he is really starting to feel at home in the desert – a first top-10 result is very rewarding for him and the team. It was also a great day for Yamaha rider Rodney Faggotter, who finished a very impressive sixth. Franco, Jamie and Rodney are tonight in the overnight bivouac, so all looks good for them ahead of tomorrow’s second leg of the marathon stage. It wasn’t the best day for Franco today, he lost some time looking for a way point. But importantly, he has reached the bivouac and he and his bike are without problems. With today being the first leg of the marathon stage, it was absolutely necessary that our riders reached the end of the stage without technical problems, which they have done. Tonight, they have no possibilities to change anything on their bikes and must do all their mechanical work with only the help of their teammates. In previous years riders were permitted to share parts, but no more – this is why they had to be so careful during today’s stage. The riders will face more dunes, more sand again tomorrow, so we expect another strong stage. With the finish of the event so close now I know that both riders are really focused on these next two stages – on riding safely and reaching the finish.
Dakar Rally 2020
Stage 10 Provisional Classification
1. Joan Barreda (Honda) 2:11:42
2. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 2:12:49 + 0:01:07
3. Kevin Benevides (Honda) 2:14:13 + 0:02:31
4. Toby Price (KTM) 2:14:39 + 0:02:57
5. Luciano Benevides (KTM) 2:15:56 + 0:04:14
6. Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha) 2:16:02 + 0:04:20
…
7. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) 2:16:12 + 0:04:30
13. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) 2:35:42 + 0:24:00
Dakar Rally 2020
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 10)
1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 34:12:18
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 34:38:02 + 0:25:44
3. Joan Barreda (Honda) 34:39:27 + 0:27:09
4. Toby Price (KTM) 34:40:51 + 0:28:33
5. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) 34:53:49 + 0:41:31
6. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 34:53:50 + 0:41:32
…
9. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) 35:56:15 + 1:43:57
19. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) 37:53:46 + 3:41:28