Last night the team arrived in Buenos Aires. The riders went ahead of the servicecrew, which was right behind them. 100 KM befor Buenos Aires the highway was full of people, cheering the riders and the crew. Arriving at Parc Ferme was hardly possible, even more people than last year decided to visit the city and celebrate the event. For 20 km the riders had to find their way through the crowds standing on their bikes. It is a great start of the ceremony today, on suday the 17th of january in Buenos Aires. Team Honda Europe has had an exiting Dakar, tough but rewarding. We are happy to be able to take all the riders home with us. Also Mirjam Pol who was taken out of the race by the medical team was able to stay with the crew and visit the finish of the last special. It was a very good Dakar, with a lot of challenges for both the riders and the servicecrew. And it was a beautifull Dakar in Agentine and Chile where the spectators are everywhere cheering even the most exhausted participant to the finish.

Our riders have finished the last special of Dakar 2010! Everyone made it to Buenos Aires, except for Mirjam Pol who was take out of the race by the medical team. She was there at the end of the special. It was a pleasure to see all the teammember finish and enjoy the fact that they made it. Look at the images of the riders and share the pleasure of finishing Dakar 2010!

The atmosphere in the bivouac is relaxed. The end is near. Tomorrow we will sleep in an hotel, with a hot shower and a bed. Everywhere people are sleeping in the shade. Two weeks of Dakar are exhausting. Not just for the riders, but also for the servicecrew. When the participants have finished, their race starts. After the dunes the first part of the special was fast. Ullevalseter finally won a stage this Dakar, after 8 second places. It means he is at place 2 in the overall ranking, will certainly try to keep it during the last stage today. Within the VW team Sainz and Al-Attiyah are battleing for the first and second place. Sainz cannot make a mistake today. Team Honda Europe had five riders at the start of the last special.

Our five Team honda Europe riders went through another test todat. All riders entered the bivouac on time and in good health. Christopher Jarmuz finished as 19th in the special and Gerben managed a very good 38th. These are long days and the competitors need to stay focussed all the time. With the brak of daylight the heat started. Certainly in the second part of the special in the loose sand the heat was exhausting. For man and machine, because again severa riders had problems with overheating engines and evaporated fuel. The battle for the 2nd and 3rd place is not yet over. Today Lopez took it back from Ullevalseter, but the difference is less than a minute. Cyril Depres still leads with over an hour advantage.

A hot day in San Juan is the setting for our bivouac. Some competitors enjoy succes, others are just happy to be in the race. Gerben Vruggink described today as "a day that needed be done". On their way to Buenos Aires, for the competitors each day is important. Early in the morning the rally spend 200 km on a connection, in the cold at a height of 3500m. As the sun warmed the land, this special started. The special was not as fast and much more technical than the previous stage. After 50 kilometers the tracks went straight down. A lot of dust and some fast kilometers led to the last 60 km with dry riverbeds and the ever present stones. But there was also a riverbed with a river running through it, which accompanied the riders on their way to lower ground.

Team Honda Europe left at 6:15h for the start of the special. The connection of 112 km was rather chilly on the bikes. It was the last stage in Chili, and as we leave early tomorrow morning not too difficult. Most of the riders returned early and could catch some sleep for a very short night. We leave the bivouac at 4:40h. The special was troublefree for the riders of Team Honda Europe, except for Patrick Trahan who crashed and had to regain his confidence on the bike afterwards. The special was won by Coma. Cyril Despres stays overall leader of the race, ahead of Pal Anders Ullevalseter with 1:22h.

In the 8th special from Antofagasta to Copiapo Mirjam Pol had to end her battle to reach Dakar. During a presumable innocent crash she broke some of her ribs and injured her back. It will cure, but she cannot continue her race. It might even be the result of one of her big crashes three days ago. Two French riders have alarmed the helicopter which was on site in a minute. The doctor decided: you cannot continue your race. A big disappointment for Pol, who will not finish Dakar for the first time.

This evening we received a message from the team that Dakar is over for Mirjam Pol. A few kilometers after CP1 in today's stage she crashed hard. "When I went down I felt a snap and knew something was wrong", she said. Another rider pushed the emergency button, and the helicopter came immediately. The doctor decided that the race was over for Mirjam Pol.