Storms continued to plague the 2016 Dakar Rally as competitors set off for Stage 3, which featured a shortened timed section owing to the adverse weather conditions. Riders faced tight mountain tracks this time out, which for some made navigation easier than the previous day. Team HRC’s Joan Barreda was one rider to take advantage of the less demanding navigation, throttling hard from the start and holding it pinned to the finish for the stage win. His Stage 3 run catapulted him from sixth overall at the beginning of the day to first in the general classification.Barreda’s performance topped off a strong day for Honda, with Argentinian and Dakar rookie Kevin Benavides finishing second-fastest in the stage, just 26 seconds adrift of the Spaniard. Barreda’s teammate, Paulo Goncalves, rounded out the top-three, 52 seconds behind the leader.Joan Barreda took over the lead in the general standings after Stage 3.The previous day’s winner, KTM’s Toby Price, opened the road and found obstacles such as animals and spectators on track a persistent difficulty. “I had a few close calls with some people,” Price explained in statement to Dakar personnel after the stage. “It was safer to back it down a little today and put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow and we’ll go from there. We’re only at day three now so there’s still a long way
Read more at: 2016 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Results – Motorcycle USA