Dakar Bikes, Stage 12: Rodrigues scores first Yamaha win, Price maintains lead

After all 11 stages were topped by either KTM or Honda, Rodrigues dominated the 481km timed run from San Juan to Villa Carlos Paz.

The Portuguese rider took over out front at around midway, the stage having been previously headed by Husqvarna's Pablo Quintanilla, only for the Chilean to drop off significantly in the second half of the run.

With Quintanilla out of the picture, it was Price who finished as closest rival to Rodrigues, albeit the Aussie was seven and a half minutes off at the finish line.

Price, coasting towards a maiden Dakar triumph, was supported by teammate Antoine Meo throughout the stage - with the Frenchman settling in right behind the Aussie at the start.

However, Meo, having entered the day in third place, was stopped for more than 10 minutes after WP10, costing him precious time in the general classification fight.

The Honda contingent in the stage was headed by Kevin Benavides, who took third place, followed by Price's nearest rival Stefan Svitko (KTM) and Adrien van Beveren (Yamaha).

The 2016 Dakar concludes on Saturday with a timed run of 180 kilometres as three drivers enter the final stage within four minutes of third place.

Standings after Stage 12:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	3	Toby Price	KTM	46h13m26s
2	5	Stefan Svitko	KTM	37m39s
3	4	Pablo Quintanilla	Husqvarna	53m10s
4	7	Helder Rodrigues	Yamaha	54m29s
5	47	Kevin Benavides	Honda	57m28s
6	49	Antoine Meo	KTM	1h14m50s
7	42	Adrien van Beveren	Yamaha	1h36m42s
8	23	Gerard Farres	KTM	1h54m30s
9	48	Ricky Brabec	Honda	2h03m06s
10	45	Armand Monleon	Honda	3h19m13s