Sebastien Loeb and Joan Barreda have taken car and bike wins on the eighth day of competition in the 2017 Dakar Rally, with Loeb then moving into the lead in cars after his third stage win this year.
The wins are particularly important with stage nine being canceled (more on that to come in a separate post). The next round of coverage for the 2017 Dakar Rally is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Quick recaps of the day are below.
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The Uyuni to Salta stage was another modified layout owing to the poor weather that’s affected several stages of the rally. Rally organizers posted the update at the start of the day.
Stage 8 modification / Modificaciones en la etapa 8. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/pI1M4rvsqF
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
The trio of Peugeot competitors continued their battle both in the stage and the overall rankings in cars. Loeb surged ahead with his third stage win of the rally, and the win has now moved him past Stephane Peterhansel for the overall lead in cars with now just thee stages remaining in the rally.
🏁 STAGE 8 - CARS 🏁
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
1- @SebastienLoeb 🇫🇷
2- @s_peterhansel 🇫🇷 (+3'35")
3- @cyrildespres 🇫🇷 (+5'13")
Stages: Loeb 3, Peterhansel 2. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/OGllaMs8rC
🏆 CARS 🚙 - GENERAL (STAGE 8) 🏆
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
1- @SebastienLoeb 🇫🇷
2- @s_peterhansel 🇫🇷 (+1'38")
3- @cyrildespres 🇫🇷 (+17'17")
Bring out the 🍿. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/wB0QjaUC5f
CARS - @s_peterhansel knows how tough it will be to stop an all fired up Loeb. / Peterhansel sabe que será difícil vencer a Loeb. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/YWiCDDn7Pp
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
Just one minute and 38 seconds separates the two, with Cyril Despres now 17-plus minutes back in third.
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Barreda, on his Honda, dominated the bikes stage over Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland, with KTM rider Sunderland solidifying his lead on the bikes overall standings thanks to another day of damage limitations in third.
Barreda’s quite a ways back (more than an hour back) in ninth in bikes but will keep pushing. Stage 7 winner, American Ricky Brabec, was 12th on the stage and is now 12th overall in the rally.
🏁 STAGE 8 - BIKES 🏁
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
1- @joanbangbang88 🇪🇸
2- @MatthiasWalkner 🇦🇹 (+3'51")
3- @Sundersam 🇬🇧 (+3'54")
First to get two stage wins. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/tm0T6utM9r
BIKES 🏍 - @Sundersam acknowledges the importance of bad days. / Sam Sunderland reconoce la importancia de los días malos. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/iPAcLbb5Td
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
BIKES 🏍 - @joanbangbang88's morale will not go down. / La moral de Joan Barreda no se reducirá. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/RbE6ofhi6K
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
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Ignacio Casale (Quads) and Martin Van Den Brink (Trucks) won their stages in these classes.
🏁 STAGE 8 - QUADS 🏁
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
1- @IgnacioCasale 🇨🇱
2- @Karyakin_s 🇷🇺 (+5'39")
3- Axel Dutrie 🇫🇷 (+7'16")
Karyakin still leading overall. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/4isd4uccmy
🏁 STAGE 8 - TRUCKS 🏁
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 10, 2017
1- Van Den Brink 🇳🇱
2- @coyotevillagra 🇦🇷 (0'17")
3- Nikolaev 🇷🇺 (0'42")
So fast, Brink and you'll miss it. #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/vFsoNEr8MX
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STAGE RECAPS
Stage seven (rest day VIDEOS)
Stage six (cancelled due to weather)
Stage five (shortened due to weather)
Stage four and (VIDEOS)
Stage three and (VIDEOS)
Stage two and (VIDEOS)
Stage one and (VIDEOS)