Positive end to Xavier de Soultrait's 2019 Dakar Rally campaign
By Team TMX on 18th Jan 19
Bringing their participation in the 2019 Dakar Rally to a close on Thursday, the Yamalube Yamaha Rally team saw WR450F Rally mounted Xavier de Soultrait secure a highly positive sixth place result in the rally's overall standings.
Claiming his fourth consecutive top 10 stage result today in Peru, Xavier de Soultrait solidified his strong result inside the top six in the event's final standings. Enjoying a great final performance aboard his WR450F Rally, during the event Xavier won stage three before placing third two days later on stage five. He secured a place inside the overall top 10 on stage three and remained there until the end of the event in Lima.
The 2019 Dakar Rally has been one of mixed fortunes for the Yamalube Yamaha Rally squad. With de Soultrait being the highest placed Yamaha racer in the final standings, his teammate Adrien Van Beveren was unable to finish the penultimate stage and had to sit out the final day of racing in Peru. One of the most consistent riders at this year's Dakar, Adrien had finished inside the top seven in all of the first eight stages of the rally.
Representing Yamaha at this Dakar, Franco Caimi and Rodney Faggotter entered the event with high expectations but were both not able to go further than stage two of the event. Strongly represented in the UTV open class of this Dakar, Yamaha saw the 100% female crew of Camelia Liparoti and Rosa Romero cross the finish line of the event today in Lima.
Xavier de Soultrait (8th Stage 10 / 6th Overall): "This was a hard Dakar and this result is the best reward for me and my team. All the members of the Yamalube Yamaha Rally team have done an amazing job these last two weeks here in Peru. My bike was running great from start to finish and it was really a pleasure to race in these difficult conditions. I'm also happy because we've made some big improvements this year with the bike and our whole approach to the race as a team.
"From my side, I had studied this race a lot and I just did my best to stay within my goals for each stage. The win on stage three shows we're on the right track. We take the experience collected from this rally and hope to come back even stronger in the future."
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