Image Gallery: Dakar 2015 reaches halfway mark with Barreda Bort and Al-Attiyah in the lead
The 2015 Dakar Rally has reached the halfway mark, with six stages completed. The going hasn't been easy, the Dakar is treacherous if anything, but there appear to be clear leaders in each class of the event. Joan Barreda Bort leads the charge for HRC on two wheels. And on four wheels, Nasser Al-Attiyah's Qatar Rally Team Mini has proved to be hard to catch. Rafal Sonik is the man to beat in the quad class, while Eduard Nikolaev is holding his Kamaz team-mates at bay in the truck category of the event. The going is set to get even tougher as the bivouacs travel through South America over the next few days. But here's a quick glance at the 2015 Dakar thus far.
All images: Shakedown Team
Here's the man leading the way at the 2015 Dakar Rally - HRC rider Joan Barreda Bort has managed to take command in the motorcycle category with a total time of 21hr 38min 35sec
And here's the man trying hard to play catch up - defending champion KTM's Marc Coma trails Barreda Bort by 12 minutes
KTM rider Jordi Viladoms shot at the 2015 Dakar looks likely to be over, especially since he picked up a 40 minute penalty for missing a way point on Stage 6 of the event
All smiles is our own CS Santosh at the bivouac. It's been a tough few days of riding but Santosh seems to be doing well on his Dakar debut
Here he is powering through to 52nd overall in the motorcycle category of the event. The Kini Red Bull rider is listed as Chunchunguppe Shivashankar if you're looking for him in the official standings.
The other Indian connect at the Dakar. Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team's Alain Duclos has been performing strongly, currently running ninth overall in the motorcycle class.
Nasser Al-Attiyah heads the car category of the event in his Mini, trying hard to hunt down his second Dakar victory. The Qatar Rally Team driver has taken three wins of six stages.
The man who could spoil Al-Attiyah's hopes is Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers. The South African currently trails Al-Attiyah by 11 minutes.
Defending champion Nani Roma's Dakar hopes are over, but he's still leaving the dust in his wake as he tries hard to notch a few stage wins along the way to the finish.
It's not been an easy debut for Team Peugeot and Stephane Peterhansel, with the Frenchman currently 10th in the standings.
Polish rider Rafal Sonik is the man to beat at the 2015 Dakar. But he's looking increasingly difficult to catch.
Of course, chasing Sonik down the desert sands is Ignacio Casale, desperately looking to take a second consecutive Dakar win in the quad class.
Eduard Nikolaev and his Kamaz team-mates have locked out the top three positions in the truck category.
Airat Mardeev is second in the standings, with Kamaz team-mate Andrey Karginov third in the truck class.