Eduard Nikolaev en route to stage win during the fifth stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally
The truck category of the 2016 Dakar was something that kept everyone on tenterhooks all through Stage 5 of the rally. The reason was the battle that raged on between Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev and Tatra's Martin Kolomy.
The end result was that Nikolaev won the stage by 2min 32sec over his Czech rival. This meant that the Russian driver was able to give the Kamaz team their very first stage win during the 38th edition of the Dakar. Finishing third, behind the sparring duo, was Iveco's Federico Villagra.
This third place that Villagra scored, however, was enough to put him and Iveco in the lead of the truck class after Stage 5 of the event. The lead, though, is very slim. There are merely 5sec between him and MAN's Peter Versluis. Hans Stacey is currently third in the overall standings.
In the quad category, there were retirements aplenty. Perhaps it was these misfortunes that befell others that paved the way for a smooth win in the stage for Alexis Hernandez. The Peruvian rider managed to outclass South Africa's Brian Baragwanath, who had to settle for second ahead of Stage 4 winner Marcos Patronelli.
The overall standings in the quad class also see a new leader, this time Sergei Karyakin. The Russian rider leads Hernandez by 4min 55sec overall. Third in the standings is Alejandro Patronelli.
