Pablo Quintanilla: "My toughest Dakar yet"

Dakar 2023 | Stage 13 | SHAYBAH > AL-HOFUF
January 14 ^th 2023 - 11:40 [GMT + 3]

The Honda factory rider, second in the 2022 Dakar, finished eighth today and will not be involved in the final dash for victory he has so often played a part in. Pablo will start tomorrow's stage about 16 minutes down on the lader, but just 8 seconds behind his teammate VBA.

"The navigation was difficult, the dunes were even softer than the previous two days, but I really liked the stage. I think I did a good stage and I'm happy that we're getting closer to the finish. I'm happy with my overall performance. The cancelled stage didn't work in my favour because I had to open stage 9, which we knew was tough, but that's part of the race. The 13th stage wasn't easy either. I think it's my toughest Dakar yet. Long, cold stages, long road sections. Of course I would have liked to win, but it's part of the race, sometimes it smiles upon you and you can follow your plan, sometimes it doesn't. But what matters is to give 100% and that's what I think I did. »