Dakar leader Barreda handed severe penalty

The Spaniard ended the day with an 18-minute gap over his nearest rival, Husqvarna's Pablo Quintanilla.

However, Barreda, along with teammates Michael Metge and Paulo Goncalves, was found to have refuelled in a prohibited zone during the Jujuy – Tupiza test.

The organisers have stated they are also looking into the data for Honda's fourth factory rider Ricky Brabec.

Honda can appeal the decision, although the insistence from Dakar representatives was that the offense had been clear cut.

Barreda's penalty promotes Quintanilla to the lead of the rally, with the Spaniard demoted to ninth, 41 minutes off the lead.

Matthias Walkner, Stefan Svitko and Sam Sunderland are set to start Friday's stage as Quintanilla's nearest rivals, the former pair having passed Sunderland in the standings after times were adjusted.

Several riders were awarded time after the stage following crashes for Toby Price, Armand Monleon and Alessandro Botturi, as various riders stopped to assist their stricken competitors.

UPDATE: After further investigation from the stewards, Brabec, Honda South America rider Franco Caimi and Honda Portugal rider Pedro Bianchi Prata have all been handed one-hour penalties.

Revised bikes standings after Stage 4:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	Pablo Quintanilla	Husqvarna	12h54m02s
2	Matthias Walkner	KTM	+2m07s
3	Stefan Svitko	KTM	+5m52s
4	Sam Sunderland	KTM	+6m12s
5	Gerard Farres	KTM	+12m02s
6	Xavier de Soultrait	Yamaha	+12m38s
7	Adrian van Beveren	Yamaha	+14m50s
8	Pela Renet	Husqvarna	+15m13s
9	Joan Barreda	Honda	+41m41s
10	Diego Duplessis	KTM	+42m15s