Laia Sanz crashed twice in the closing stages of the 2018 Dakar Rally, but the Spaniard was able to finish twelfth overall, just two hours, fifty-six minutes and two seconds down on her race-winning Red Bull KTM team-mate Matthias Walkner.
Without the two crashes, Sanz felt that she could have been a top-ten contender, and she ultimately ended up less than fifteen minutes off Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo in that tenth position, but despite missing out, she was very happy to have reached the end of the rally, particularly after such organisers provided such a challenging event for all competitors.
Sanz is now looking for some much needed rest after such a demanding event, and she thanked her whole team for their assistance.
“I am so happy to get to the finish, I am really pleased with my position too – it has been a very tough rally,” said Sanz. “I had two big crashes, which luckily didn’t cause too much damage to me or the bike.
“I am exhausted now but feel good because I am here, safely at the finish. I want to thank all the team for their help and now it’s finally time to relax.”