Spanish Joan Barreda (Honda), who was in second place in the 2018 Dakar in motorcycles, abandoned the race on Wednesday during stage 11, between the Argentine cities of Belén and Chilecito, announced the organization of the prestigious rally.

The machine failed him

Joan Barreda was the winner of three stages in this edition of the 2018 Dakar, but the 34-year-old pilot suffered a hard fall on Saturday that injured his knee. 'Today I decided to stop at 100 km of the special stage. I fought the last few days with the intention of finishing the @dakar overcoming important physical problems that have been worsening. It was too much risk for my safety to continue. Thanks to everyone for your support!', the pilot wrote on his social media accounts after the stage.

On Saturday, Joan Barreda fell into a hole and the bike fell on top of him, causing an injury to his knee. He tried to continue but could not make it. 'We had a strong crash; I went off track in a big hole and the bike fell on top of me. I definitely broke my knee because it's very unstable and I can't put my foot on the ground', he had said on Saturday.

This was his eighth Dakar. In 2017, he achieved his best result by finishing fifth overall.