Rod Faggotter claims 16th at Dakar
It’s mission accomplished for Rodney Faggotter as the Queensland Yamaha dealer successfully finished the final stage of Dakar 2018 without any issues, ending his 2018 Dakar Rally adventure with a positive 16th place in the event’s final overall standings, the highest placed Yamaha of Dakar 2018.
Rodney Faggotter
“The race is over and I’m happy I crossed the finish line. Today we raced a shorter stage and it all went pretty well for me. The starting order this morning was reversed so we had to pay extra attention when passing riders in front.
“I am happy with my top 20 result for the day and with my 16th position in the final overall standings. It’s been a long two weeks of racing and I’m happy to be here at the finish line. This has been a demanding Dakar so to reach the finish is a feat in itself. I really had a great time racing with the team here in South America.”
Alexandre Kowalski
Yamaha Rally Team Director
“We’ve made it to the finish of a really tough Dakar and this is a good reward for all of our hard work. Despite this being the final stage of the race, it wasn’t easy at all. There were some fast tracks full of hidden stones, and we were happy Rod brought his Yamaha home without making any mistakes. Overall, he’s had a strong run in this year’s rally and we were all happy to see him cross the finish line. This has been an emotional adventure for us. Despite losing Franco and then Xavier and Adrien, we all stayed behind Rod in his attempt to finish the rally. I am personally really proud of the work done by all members of our team this year. The first week was like a dream coming true for us. Most importantly, we showed this year that we have a bike that is highly competitive and fully capable to win the Dakar. We’ve improved a lot and we are were all happy to be here racing for Yamaha.”
Dakar Rally 2018 – Stage 14 – Provisional Classification
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 01:26:41
2. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 01:27:35, +00:54
3. Antoine Meo (FRA), KTM, 01:29:30, +02:49
4. Dani Oliveras (ESP), KTM, 01:30:06, +03:25
5. Johnny Aubert (FRA), Gas Gas, 01:31:00, +04:19
6. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, 01:31:42, +05:01
…
19. Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 01:38:59, +12:18
Dakar Rally 2018 – Overall Classification
1. Matthias Walkner (AUS), KTM, 43:06:01
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Yamaha, 43:22:54, +16:53
3. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 43:29:02, +23:01
4. Antoine Meo (FRA), KTM, 43:53:29, +47:28
5. Gerard Farres (ESP), KTM, 44:07:05, +01:01:04
6. Johnny Aubert (FRA), Gas Gas, 44:59:54, +01:53:53
…
16. Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 47:04:17, +03:58:16
Quads
Yamaha’s domination in the Quad class of the race was demonstrated by the fact that the seven riders in the final overall standings were all aboard Yamaha machinery. Winner of Saturday’s final stage, Chile’s Ignacio Casale is the winner of the 2018 Dakar Rally’s Quad class.
