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Dakar 2019 Stage Four | Honda’s Brabec leads | Price P3

Dakar 2019 Stage Four

Arequipa > Moquegua 511 km – Jan 10th

Today saw the first leg of the marathon stage at the 2019 Dakar en route from Arequipa to Moquegua, where the 124 remaining motorcycle riders had an early start to cover the opening 85-kilometre link section before the first part of the 205-kilometre special.  The day was soured by biting cold and humidity in both the city and the mountainous regions. The special consisted of soft dunes with many areas of dusty Fesh-Fesh leading into faster, hard-packed river beds. Riders had to take care to preserve their tyres on the faster sections while not losing too much time to their rivals. A short liaison then brought the riders to the temporary bivouac situated near Moquegua. As the marathon stage rules state, riders receive no outside assistance overnight. All maintenance must be carried out by themselves or fellow competitors.

Nonetheless, Honda’s Ricky Brabec set off like a bat out of hell, marking the best time in the process. After a neutralisation of 54 kilometres, the second part of the special, over 146 kilometres, proved even better for the American, who cruised home with a six-minute advantage over the nearest finisher, dethroning the previous overall leader Pablo Quintanilla with a walloping twenty minute gap. In doing so, Brabec triumphs for the second time in a stage after the victory in 2017 on the La Paz-Uyuni stage. The American takes the head of the overall rankings for the first time in the world’s toughest rally.

Ricky Brabec – Stage P1 – Overall P1

“Wow! I needed it. I needed a victory like that! Today I wanted to push because as we had studied yesterday, winning today would be able to help me in tomorrow’s stage. We will have the mass motocross-style start, just like on the motocross starting grids. I’m really very happy to have won the stage with a good margin of time which has helped place me at the top of leader board.”

Dakar Stage Brabec
Ricky Brabec

Following his challenging stage three, Matthias Walkner was the 15th rider to enter the day’s timed special. Immediately pushing hard and making the most of his experience to catch and pass riders ahead of him, the 2018 Dakar Champion maintained his strong pace throughout the day on the fast, treacherous route. A heavy landing from one drop-off caused Walkner to hurt his ankle slightly but the Austrian rider was able to continue to complete the stage and finish as runner-up.

Matthias Walkner – Stage P2 – Overall P7

“The day was good for me – the bike is running well and I didn’t crash at all today. I did land quite hard from one jump and thought I might have injured my ankle but it seems to be ok. It’s great here in the bivouac, we are all here together as one team and that feels good. I managed to get some time back in the overall today, so I’ll aim to do the same tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Matthias Walkner
Matthias Walkner

Despite a small crash in the latter half of the special, Toby Price put in a great ride to finish as third fastest, less than a minute down on the hard-charging Walkner. Still nursing his injured wrist, the Australian is looking forward to tomorrow’s slightly shorter stage five.

Toby Price – Stage P3 – Overall P3

“That was tough today. It was a long stage and a lot of it was made up of rocky tracks and rivers, they are the worst for my wrist. I did have one get-off along the way but luckily not too bad. I’m not comfortable but it is the way it is and I have to work around it. The goal for the rest of the rally is to keep on doing what I’ve been doing and get the best result possible.”

Dakar Stage Toby Price
Toby Price

Fifth away at the start of the stage, Sam Sunderland maintained a strong pace throughout the day, despite losing touch with many of the riders ahead of him and navigating his own way through the fast 405-kilometre stage. The British rider ultimately placed fourth and now also lies fourth in the provisional overall standings.

Sam Sunderland – Stage P4 – Overall P4

“The day started off on some wide-open plains, which was nice. But then they had us go through some really technical stuff, which turned out to be really tricky. I dropped the bike at one point in a ravine and had some trouble getting it to point in the right direction again, but apart from that everything was good. I had to focus to keep my pace at the end there, but I’m happy with my result and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla is holding on to a strong runner-up position in the event’s provisional overall standings.  Four days into the 2019 Dakar and the event in Peru has already proven to be a big challenge for all competitors. Thursday’s stage four was a fast-paced one that featured many tricky navigational challenges.

Racing without the pressure of the opening stages, Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren remained fast and consistent from start to finish. Posting the fifth quickest time for the day, the WR450F Rally powered rider is now fifth overall and less than nine-minutes behind the provisional overall leader.

Adrien Van Beveren – Stage P5 – Overall P5

“Everything is going well for me so far and I’m feeling good on the bike. The terrain was not so much to my liking today but I managed to enjoy the stage. The pressure I felt in the opening stages is now gone and I can just focus on my goals for every stage. I’m happy I’ve reached that point and from now on I can just do my own race. Today we rode over some dry river beds and there was a lot of fesh-fesh. The pace was high and I was able to ride well. We’ve made some good work this year with my bike setup and it gives me great confidence in this kind of terrain. I want to continue pushing for some good results in the stages to come.”

Dakar Stage VanBeveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Monster Energy Honda Team’s Paulo Gonçalves continues to improve in the 2019 edition of the Dakar after a spleen operation just a month ago. The Portuguese rider finished with the sixth fastest time of the day and lies in eighth in the general standings.

Paulo Goncalves – Stage P6 – Overall P8

“Yeah, I’m quite happy. We have done four stages and 40% of the 2019 Dakar and I have made to the marathon stage well, in good health and in a good position. Today I pressed hard until the refuelling through the river area which had plenty of stones. I was very careful. I’m happy because every day I feel better and closer to full fitness. Now let’s try to fight the remaining days of the race.”

Dakar Stage Goncalves
Paulo Goncalves

Kevin Benavides occupied ninth place at the finish, one spot behind team-mate Nacho Cornejo, with the Argentine now in sixth place overall.

Kevin Benavides – Stage P9 – Overall P6

“It was an important stage really. We went through a lot of terrain types, hard track, stony areas and even some fesh-fesh. It was fine, but I dropped a bit of time trying to find a waypoint and it didn’t go quite as I had planned. It was difficult to catch other riders because they raised a lot of dust and I preferred to take care of the bike and be able to push later.”

Dakar Stage Benavides
Kevin Benavides

Pablo Quintanilla battled through the day’s tough navigation to post the 14th best time on the special stage but is currently second in the provisional overall standings, two-minutes and 19-seconds behind new provisional overall leader, Ricky Brabec.

Pablo Quintanilla – Stage P14 – Overall P2

“It was a really hard stage today. The first part had some tricky navigation in the fesh-fesh. In the last waypoint before the refuelling I made a mistake but was able to get back on the tracks quickly. Then after the neutralisation point the tracks were really hard. There was a long dry river bed with many stones and it was hard to make some time. I knew from the beginning of the stage that it was possible to get caught by other riders and when it happened I just tried to ride with them. Overall, I’m happy to have finished the first part of the marathon stage without any problems. After some rest tonight, I’m hoping to be back stronger for the second part of the marathon stage tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Quintanilla
Pablo Quintanilla

After winning Wednesday’s stage three, Xavier de Soultrait had the demanding task of opening the stage for all following competitors and earned a 15th place result on stage four. Xavier is now ninth and the second Yamaha powered rider inside the top 10 in the provisional overall standings.

Xavier de Soultrait – Stage P15 – Overall P9

“It was a challenging day for me. Today I led the way for most of the special, opening the tracks with a small group of riders. At one point the others got lost and I was left alone opening the tracks in the dunes. I’m really confident with my navigation and I was happy not to make any big mistakes. When you’re leading the way in these conditions, it’s impossible not to make errors and I made a few of them today, which cost me some time. This is always part of the Dakar, we take it and move on. I have a very good starting position for tomorrow and that gives me extra motivation to push. Tomorrow we will be starting in rows of 10 riders every five minutes. I will be in the second row so I am hoping I can catch the leading group and ride with them. The goal now is to reach the Rest Day on Saturday with a good position in the overall.”

Dakar Stage DeSoultrait
Xavier de Soultrait

Experienced Dakar racer Laia Sanz knows the importance of caring for your bike on the first half of the marathon stage. Putting in another solid ride, Laia once again finished the day inside the top-20 as 19th fastest.

Laia Sanz – Stage P20 – Overall P19

“It was a long day today but I am happy with how it went. It’s important to arrive here at the bivouac with the bike in one piece on the marathon stage and I managed to finish without any problems. The day was quite hard with lots of dust at first and then later on the river bed was really tough. I’m hoping for another good day tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Laia Sanz
Laia Sanz

Queensland’s Rodney Faggotter was forced to retire with technical problems earlier in the rally.

Competitors spend the night at Moquegua camp where they can rest and prepare the second leg of the marathon stage. The riders will, however, be left to their own devices as no outside mechanical assistance is permitted. Instead any technical help will have to wait until the close of tomorrow’s stage back at the Arequipa bivouac. The fifth stage will add a total of 776 kilometres to the 1109 disputed so far and will include 345 kilometres against the clock.

2019 Dakar Rally
Provisional Results Stage Four

  1. BRABEC Ricky USA Honda 03:40’30
  2. WALKNER Matthias AUT KTM +06’19
  3. PRICE Toby AUS KTM +07’07
  4. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR KTM +11’35
  5. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamaha +13’29
  6. GONCALVES Paulo POR Honda +13’36
  7. SVITKO Stefan SLO KTM +14’10
  8. CORNEJO José Ignacio CHI Honda 14’33
  9. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Honda +15’20
  10. SANTOLINO Lorenzo SPA Sherco +17’02

2019 Dakar Rally Outright Standings after Stage Four

  1. BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team 12:33’00
  2. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing  +02’19
  3. PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Team +04’22
  4. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Team +05’45
  5. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamaha Official Rally Team +08’56
  6. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +09’01
  7. WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Team +09’31
  8. GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team +20’45
  9. DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Yamaha Official Rally Team +22’00
  10. SVITKO Stefan SLO Slovnaft Team KTM +28’09

Source: MCNews.com.au

Dakar 2019 Stage Three | DeSoultrait wins day | Barreda out

Dakar 2019 Stage Three

Xavier de Soultrait managed to make full use of his navigational skills during today’s stage three of the Dakar. One of the first riders to find his way out of a tricky section in the first part of the stage, Xavier secured an emphatic stage win to move up to sixth in the event’s provisional overall standings.

Dakar Stage Xavier de Soultrait
Xavier de Soultrait

Stage three also saw the retirement of stage one winner Joan Barreda, the Honda man out of the rally.  The Spaniard came across a low visibility foggy and rocky area whilst opening the track, lost control of the bike which went into a slide down a ravine which it proved impossible to escape from. Barreda’s Dakar had ended at kilometre 143.

Joan Barreda – Out

“Sadly the Dakar ended for me today. It had been going very well, opening the track and pushing the riders ahead. When I reached the mountains I found a lot of fog that limited my visibility. Following the directions of the roadbook and the GPS I reached a cliff, when I tried to return I saw that Walkner had also arrived, they saw me and stopped and were able to turn around, but from below it was impossible for me to climb back up. I tried to go down further and look for a route out along the ravine but it was impossible.”

Dakar Stage Barreda
Joan Barreda out of Dakar 2019

San Juan de Marcona > Arequipa 798 km

The agenda of the day saw riders set out from the bivouac at San Juan de Marcona to start the first special of the day five kilometres later. The timed section concluded some 264 kilometres later followed by a short two-kilometre liaison section which brought the riders to a second 65-kilometre special. Before arriving back at the camp in Arequipa, it was back in the saddle for a 461-kilometre jaunt to take the mileage to a whopping 800 kilometres. Yamaha’s Xavier de Soultrait fared best on the biggest day so far of Dakar 2019.

Xavier de Soultrait – Stage P1 – Overall P6

“It feels great to get this stage win in the bag. We had some challenging navigation today and I’m glad I made no mistake. For me this was the first proper rally stage of this race. My plan going into this stage was to push and everything worked to my favour. I had a steady pace from start to finish and this helped me secure the win. I want to keep that same momentum throughout this first week of the race and then try to push harder whenever I get the chance to do so. Everything is going well for me so far, the bike is working great and I’ve had no crashes or mistakes.”

Dakar Stage Xavier de Soultrait
Xavier de Soultrait

It was Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla, with a close runner-up result on the day’s timed special stage, that is now the rally’s provisional overall leader with three out of the 10 stages contested in Peru.

Putting his experience to good use, Pablo Quintanilla enjoyed a mistake free stage to cross the line with the second fastest time of the day. In a total time of more than four hours, Pablo was just 15 seconds slower than the stage winner. The Chilean rider now holds a very handy 11-minute lead at the top of the rally’s overall standings.

Pablo Quintanilla – Stage P2 – Overall P1

“The real Dakar has just started and I’m happy with where I’m at right now. Today we had a difficult stage. There was a lot of fog and in some parts you couldn’t see far ahead. If you tried to push, you ended up missing the right tracks. I took my time there and rode really carefully. At one crucial point in the mountains I made the right decision and gained some time to my rivals. Navigation today was really tricky. I’m having fun on my bike at the moment and I want to keep that same momentum going for the stages to come.”

Dakar Stage Pablo Quintanilla
Pablo Quintanilla

It was double congratulations for Kevin Benavides who was wished happy returns as he headed out from the San Juan de Marcona bivouac on his birthday this morning and again after an excellent stage performance by Argentinean rider when he arrived back. Monster Energy Honda Team’s Benavides had been in the running for the stage victory, but had to settle for third place on the day, 2’37 behind the stage winner. Benavides thus moved up the general rankings to find himself rubbing shoulders with rally’s top guns.

Kevin Benavides – Stage P3 – Overall P2

“Today was a very long day. I took advantage of having a good starting position to attack. I felt comfortable with the bike, I made some navigational mistakes but in the end it was a good day. I’m happy to climb some positions in the general and I’m gaining confidence every stage. It is not bad to move up to the second position of the general on my birthday.”

Dakar Stage Benavides
Kevin Benavides

Adrien Van Beveren managed to climb three spots in the provisional standings. Currently sitting 13 minutes behind the provisional overall leader and in fourth position, Adrien is looking ahead to the coming stages in the dunes of South America.

Adrien Van Beveren – Stage P4 – Overall P4

“I’m really satisfied with my performance today. The stage was hard and there was a lot of fog in the first part of it. At one point, we got stuck in the fog with a few other riders, but I managed to find my way out of there pretty fast. Going into the second part of the stage in the dunes I was planning to push more to make some time, but a small issue with my clutch didn’t let me ride the way I would have wanted to. The Dakar is a huge adventure and I’m glad I found my way out of this small issue and managed to post a decent time on the stage. All members of our team are giving their best and now our eyes are set on the marathon stage that starts tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage VanBeveren
Adrien Van Beveren

The sixth rider to enter the timed special, Sam Sunderland had a solid start to the day, riding consistently and navigating well. After clearing the fog-covered mountain section the Brit was able to push on a little harder to complete the day in fifth – one place up from his start position.

Sam Sunderland – Stage P5 – Overall P3

“It was a really tricky stage, there was a lot of fog on the top of one of the mountains and that made riding and navigation tough. The only thing you could do was ease down on your pace a little and take a lot of care. At one point visibility was down to just a few metres. The road book had a lot of long notes that weren’t as clear as they could have been and I think a few people struggled with that. As the day went on the riders grouped up and that is always a bit unpredictable because you don’t know what the other guys are going to do. This is the Dakar though, we know it’s difficult and we know we’ll have stages like this. It’s still early days so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Dakar Stage Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

Again opting to prioritise bringing his KTM 450 Rally home safely, rather than pushing and risking a mistake, Toby Price placed ninth at the end of the stage. Continuing to ride at a good and consistent pace, the Australian now sits fifth overall in the provisional overall standings, just three minutes down on Sunderland.

Toby Price – Stage P9 – Overall P5

“I think it was more about survival than racing today. It was a really tough stage but I got through it and I’m feeling good and that’s what matters. I got lost early on and that cost me some time to the front runners. Then at about the 130-kilometre mark there was a lot of fog in the mountains. The road book didn’t have too many details and there were a few cliffs you could have dropped off. Luckily, I missed them. I’m still trying to hang on and get to the end of each stage but overall things are good.”

Dakar Stage Toby Price
Toby Price

It proved to be a tough physical test for Paulo Gonçalves who held a swift pace to place a fine sixth on the day.

Paulo Goncalves – Stage P6 – Overall P9

“Today was quite long stage, quite similar to yesterday’s with lots of sand and many dunes. I have felt very comfortable and with a lot more confidence. I was able to push with a good pace, but it was a pity about an error just before the refueling that made me lose more than 10 minutes, but the important thing is that I was able to finish. I have good feelings, tomorrow the marathon starts and I want to do well.”

Dakar Stage Goncalves
Paulo Goncalves

Ricky Brabec suffered the setback of being forced to open the track which led to a twelfth place finish.

Ricky Brabec – Stage P13 – Overall P7

“The stage was tough. There was a lot of sand dunes and a lot of navigation. I ended up opening a lot of the stage. There was a lot of fog there. Joan went down a ravine or the wrong side of the mountain or something. I really had to go slow there. At kilometre 178 there was a really difficult waypoint which was not where it was shown in the roadbook. I spent fifteen minutes looking around for the way point and rode around for 30 kilometres. It was a bad day. We’ll have to make it up. But for me, in my mind, it’s going to be tough.”

Dakar Stage Brabec
Ricky Brabec

Opening a stage is always tricky and Stage Two winner Matthias Walkner had that honour on stage three, entering the timed special at just after 6am on Wednesday morning. Riding well for the first part of the route, a crash ended up costing the Austrian some time. Despite navigation proving to be the toughest yet in this year’s event, Walkner regained his composure to place 15th on the day and now lies eighth overall.

Matthias Walkner – Stage P15 – Overall P8

“Things were pretty hard for me today. I opened the stage but only for the first 60 kilometres or so because I had a crash going over one of the drops. After that I couldn’t find my rhythm so well again. It was really foggy and normally you would have to stop in those conditions. All you could do is drop your speed and take things really carefully. I picked up the pace later on in the stage but lost some time on the leaders. It’s only day three though and we have many kilometres left to race.”

Dakar Stage Walkner
Matthias Walkner

Rodney Faggotter suffered a technical issue after the last waypoint and the experienced Aussie could not finish the stage.

Stage four of the 2019 Dakar Rally marks the first half of the marathon stage. Riders will leave Arequipa and head for the temporary bivouac in Moquegua where they will receive no outside assistance from their teams. The 511-kilometre stage includes a gruelling 405-kilometre timed special – the longest of the rally.

2019 Dakar Rally
Provisional Results Stage Three

  1. DE SOULTRAIT Xavier 18 FRA Yamaha 04:07’42
  2. QUINTANILLA Pablo 6 CHI Husqvarna +00’15
  3. BENAVIDES Kevin 47 ARG Honda +02’37
  4. VAN BEVEREN Adrien 4 FRA Yamaha +06’42
  5. SUNDERLAND Sam 14 GBR KTM +08’26
  6. GONCALVES Paulo 2 POR Honda +09’31
  7. SVITKO Stefan 11 SLO KTM +10’50
  8. MENA Oriol 7 SPA Hero +11’15
  9. PRICE Toby 3 AUS KTM +14’16
  10. METGE Michael 16 FRA Sherco +14’45
  11. SANTOLINO Lorenzo SPA Sherco+14’59
  12. SHORT Andrew 29 USA Husqvarna +15’10
  13. BRABEC Ricky 15 USA Honda +20’01

2019 Dakar Rally Outright Standings after Stage Three

  1. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Rockstar Factory Husqvarna 08:34’28
  2. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Monster Energy Honda +11’23
  3. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Factory +12’12
  4. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamaha Official Rally +13’29
  5.  PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Factory +15’17
  6. DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Yamaha Official Rally  +16’52
  7. BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda  +18’02
  8. WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Factory +21’14
  9. GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda +25’11
  10. SHORT Andrew USA Rockstar Husqvarna Factory +29’15

Source: MCNews.com.au

Dakar 2019 Stage Two | Walkner picks up the pace | Video

Dakar 2019 Stage Two

Pisco > San Juan de Marcona – 553 km | 342 km

Stage two of the 2019 Dakar Rally challenged all motorcycle competitors with an extremely fast, and rough, timed special of 342 kilometres. Leaving Pisco and heading south along the coast towards San Juan de Marcona the unusual stage saw the cars opening the route, leaving the bikes to deal with the many tracks ahead of them in the sand. The added traffic not only caused the terrain to cut up badly, but also made navigation even more of a challenge.

Dakar Stage Walkner
Matthias Walkner

Following his solid ride on the short, opening day’s stage, Matthias Walkner was the seventh rider to enter today’s timed special. Feeling comfortable on his KTM 450 Rally, the reigning Dakar Champion opted to push right from the beginning.


Dakar 2019 Stage Two Video


For the majority of the stage Walkner chased down Honda’s Ricky Brabec ahead of him, only to head the American rider in the last 40-kilometres and ultimately claim the stage win by a narrow 22-seconds.

Matthias Walkner – Stage P1 – Overall P2

“That was a long and really, really fast stage. It was hard to judge the pace of the riders in front, so early on I decided to push and give my best. It was enough to set the fastest time, which is great but I’m not too keen on stages like that – two or three in a year is enough for me. Crossing the tracks left by the cars on such a tricky stage can be quite daunting sometimes and I’m glad to reach the finish safely.”

Dakar Stage Walkner
Matthias Walkner

Ricky Brabec – Stage P2 – Overall P3

“The second stage was awesome. More or less like what I’m used to at home. Lot’s of fast track, lots of rocks, fesh fesh and some dunes. I had a fun day, and rode most of the day with Quintanilla. It was great so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Third overall is not that good. We’ve got to be in front. So we are going to try tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Brabec
Ricky Brabec

Joan Barreda, who opened the special alone, posted third, 1m41s seconds behind stage winner Walkner. The 35-year-old Spaniard still leads the Rally overall with a 1m31s buffer over Walkner after the KTM rider promoted himself from P7 right through to P2 after a sensational day in the dunes for the Austrian.

Joan Barreda – Stage P3 – Overall P1

“Days like today are really important. When you start out in first position, winning is very difficult. Open the track without making any mistakes throughout the day is really complicated, but these are the days that you really make progress on. At first I doubted as to whether to follow the tracks or not, but in the part on the beach I saw that they were catching me up and following the tracks I was able to push hard with good pace. In the end it turned out to be a perfect stage, with a very good starting position for tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Barreda
Joan Barreda

Despite a small mistake that caused him to get stuck early on in the stage, Toby Price went on to post the fourth fastest time of the day, three minutes behind stage winner Walkner. Although still riding in pain due to his injured wrist, Price now sits fifth overall in the provisional overall standings and is determined to maintain his strong pace as the rally progresses.

Toby Price – Stage P4 – Overall P5

“Day two was long, 342 kilometres on my wrist was really tough. It didn’t help that I got stuck in a dune around the 50-kilometre mark and had to pull the bike out and turn around. That hurt my wrist a little more but I managed to live with it for the rest of the stage, even though it was really bumpy after the cars had been through. All in all, I’m pretty happy with my time and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Dakar Stage Price
Toby Price

Making good use of his vast rally racing experience, Pablo Quintanilla put in a steady but importantly mistake-free performance on Tuesday’s stage two of the Dakar. Pushing hard to gain some time in the opening part of the special, the Chilean rally star eventually finished less than four-minutes behind the day’s winner Matthias Walkner. Currently fourth in the provisional overall standings, Pablo sits in a very good place ahead of the remainder of the rally.

Pablo Quintanilla – Stage P5 – Overall P4

“Stage two was a long and tough one but I had a good feeling on my bike. The pace was quite high from the beginning and we were riding a lot across the beach. I pushed hard in the first part of the special stage. After the refueling the conditions changed a lot. We were following the cars and there were lots of different tracks everywhere, so I decided to keep it steady and avoid taking any risks. I kept a good pace until the end and managed to get a good overall time for the day. The gap to the leaders is still controllable so I am looking ahead to tomorrow’s stage.”

Dakar Stage Pablo Quintanilla
Pablo Quintanilla

Now sitting sixth, one place behind Price in the overall standings, Sam Sunderland rode another calculated stage, minimising any risks on the heavily worn terrain. Although not quite finding his rhythm on the long timed special, the Brit is still confident that his pace is good and is feeling fit and motivated for the rest of the event.

Sam Sunderland – Stage P6 – Overall P6

“It was a pretty tricky stage covering the car lines. You are always cross-checking the road book to make sure you’re not making any mistakes. I didn’t find my rhythm as well as I would have liked, I know my pace wasn’t too bad but I didn’t feel so strong out there. As the speeds were so high today, I decided to ease off a little after the refuel to conserve my tyre. It may be that I didn’t have to, but this early in the rally I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Dakar Stage Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

Adrien Van Beveren posted the seventh best time in Tuesday’s timed special and is the top ranked Yamaha rider. Currently seventh in the provisional overall rankings, the WR450F Rally powered racer is looking ahead to the coming stages of the rally.

Adrien Van Beveren – Stage P7 – Overall P7

“Today we were treated with a fast and difficult stage. There was a lot of fesh-fesh and some parts with loads of stones. It’s quite hard to feel comfortable racing in this terrain but I did my best to stay close to the leaders. There were also lots of tracks from the cars and it was easy to make navigational mistakes. In the dunes I felt good on my bike and managed to gain some time, but overall I had to be patient and try not to make costly mistakes. There’s still a long way to go in this Dakar and I’m now are set on tomorrow’s stage three.”

Dakar Stage VanBeveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Queensland Yamaha dealer Rodney Faggotter put in another steady performance on stage two. The 42-year-old collected  a 29th place result and is now 27th in the provisional overall standings.

Rodney Faggotter – Stage P29 – Overall P27

“We’re just two days into this Dakar and we’ve already entered the most demanding stages. The stage today was fast and long. For me, the goal is to remain consistent and bring my Yamaha back at the bivouac safely. It’s all going according to plan so far and I’m looking forward to the dune stages to come.”

Dakar Stage Faggotter
Rodney Faggotter

Stage three of the 2019 Dakar Rally leaves the bivouac at San Juan de Marcona and again heads south along the coast of the South Pacific towards the city of Arequipa. The 798-kilometre stage includes another long timed special of 331 kilometres.

2019 Dakar Rally
Provisional Results Stage Two

  1. WALKNER Matthias AUT KTM 03:21’57
  2. BRABEC Ricky USA Honda +00’22
  3. BARREDA Joan SPA Honda +01’41
  4. PRICE Toby AUS KTM +03’06
  5. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna +03’24
  6. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR KTM +06’03
  7. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamaha +09’03
  8. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Honda +09’59
  9. SHORT Andrew USA Husqvarna +12’25
  10. CORNEJO José Ignacio CHI Honda +13’43
  11. GONCALVES Paulo POR Honda +14’12
    29. FAGGOTTER Rodney AUS Yamaha +33’13
Dakar Stage Walkner
Matthias Walkner

2019 Dakar Rally Outright Standings after Stage Two

  1. BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team 04:23’14
  2. WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +01’31
  3. BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team +01’33
  4. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing +03’17
  5. PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +04’33
  6. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +07’18
  7. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamaha Official Rally Team +10’19
  8. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +12’18
  9. CORNEJO José Ignacio CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +17’24
  10. SHORT Andrew USA Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing +17’37
  11. GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team +19’12
    27. FAGGOTTER Rodney AUS Yamaha +42’59
Dakar Stage Price
Toby Price

Source: MCNews.com.au

Barreda takes early lead as Dakar gets underway in Peru

Dakar 2019 Stage One

Lima > Pisco 331 km | 84 km

The opening stage of the 41st Dakar Rally took competitors from the host city of Lima to Pisco, near the southern coast of Peru. Although short at just 84 kilometres, the day’s timed special still threw up a few challenges. Starting in reverse order, the top riders would have to wait until last to get their chance to enter the stage. Dust thrown up from the riders in front made overtaking difficult with the Peruvian heat also making conditions tough.

Honda’s Joan Barreda was quickest out of the blocks, obviously eager to make up for the disappointment of retiring while second in the rally last year, the 35-year-old Spaniard ended day one 1m34s ahead of Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla

Joan Barreda – P1

“I’m very happy to start like this. Today was a short stage but where everyone went very fast. Without making mistakes I managed to push for the whole of the special. In the beginning it’s always a bit difficult to pick up the rhythm, but from kilometre 20 I started to improve and I was able to maintain a good rhythm during the whole stage with very good results. Now it’s time to think about the long stages where the way of preparing them changes. Tomorrow we will have to stay focused, since the pace will also be high and there is more chance of getting lost.”


Dakar 2019 Stage One Video


Pablo Quintanilla – P2

“I felt really good on the bike today. It wasn’t an easy stage. There were some sandy dunes, some dusty parts and some tricky navigation. I was pushing from the start and I felt confident all the way through the stage. It’s good to start this race with a second place and it gives me extra confidence for the rest of the rally. Today we had many waypoints to cross and many direction changes. It was good to get things started with the first stage. This year I am feeling very confident and I am enjoying the race a lot. The bike is running great and I am looking forward to the coming stages.”

Dakar Stage Pablo Quintanilla
Pablo Quintanilla

Ricky Brabec put his Honda in to third place on stage one, 2m52s behind teammate Barreda, and three-seconds ahead of leading Yamaha rider Adrien Van Beveren.

Ricky Brabec – P3

“First stage of this Dakar with some very good sensations. The stage was not very long, but there were many dunes and a lot of people. I have found the whole special went pretty well: there was a bit of fesh-fesh but I’m very happy to be here and am prepared to give it my best shot over the coming days.”

Dakar Stage Ricky Brabec
Ricky Brabec

Adrien Van Beveren – P4

“We got this tricky opening stage out of the way and I’m happy with my result for the day. Today we got a small taste of what lies ahead. The start of the Dakar is always tricky and there’s some extra pressure. Today I tried to control this pressure and avoid mistakes by any means. I felt good racing in the dunes and my Yamaha was working great. As the race goes on, I want to gradually improve my pace while also staying 100% focused on the tracks and my navigation. Tomorrow we have a long stage and I’m looking forward to going back out there in the dunes.”

Dakar Stage Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Keen to make up for his retirement from the 2018 event, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland put in a strong performance on the opening day’s timed special to claim the fifth fastest time – just under three minutes down on the leader. Choosing to navigate his way through the stage rather than following existing tracks, the 2017 Dakar champion rode an intelligent day and is looking forward to tomorrow.

Sam Sunderland – P5

“I’m pleased with the opening stage, I felt good on the bike and happy with my pace. We had to be careful as the less experienced riders had opened the stage, I think some of the top guys took the risk and pushed the tracks, but I played it safe and navigated myself. It maybe cost me a little time but I think it was the best option. I caught a few riders ahead of me and lost some time in one of the rivers but I didn’t take any risks out there – we have a lot more days to come.”

Dakar Stage Sam Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

Putting in a brave performance, just 12-seconds down on team-mate Sunderland, Toby Price successfully completed the stage despite nursing the wrist he broke just weeks beforehand. Aware of the task ahead of him, Price plans to take the rally day-by-day.

Toby Price – P6

“The first day has gone well. My wrist is giving me some pain so I know the next nine days are going to be tough. But I can’t complain, I’m happy with sixth place today. Conditions out there were ok, you just have to be careful in the dunes that you don’t send it off one of the big drops – I can’t afford to risk anything like that so I need to be a little careful. The bike is running sweet, so thanks to Joe my mechanic for that. It’s going to be a long one tomorrow but I’ll give it my best.”

Dakar Stage Toby Price
Toby Price

Displaying the number one plate on his KTM 450 Rally, Matthias Walkner set off from Lima as the very last rider away. The Austrian made use of his experience to navigate the well-ridden route ahead of him to claim a solid seventh place.

Dakar Stage Bikes Walkner
Matthias Walkner – KTM 450 Rally

Matthias Walkner – P7

“Today was a good day, it feels great to start the rally and I felt better than I imagined after being a little ill over the last few days. The opening riders made a good job of the navigation and most of the top guys are all at a similar pace, but it was really fast out there today. As well as the sand dunes there were some rivers and rocky sections – with the wind and the riders in front there was a lot of dust and that made things even more tricky. The bike is working well and we’ll continue to work on settings as the rally goes on. Overall, it’s been an encouraging day.”

Dakar Stage Matthias Walkner
Matthias Walkner

Kevin Benavides hampered with the task of being the first of the elite riders to open the track, was ahead for much of the day but the Argentinean ended up with the eighth fastest time on the day, one place ahead of Chilean Jose Ignacio Cornejo, ninth some 5m22s adrift of Barreda. Paulo Gonçalves finished eleventh 6m41s behind leader Barreda.

Kevin Benavides – P8

“It was a very good first stage to warm up. I felt good, comfortable and I think I did a good job. We had to leave in reverse order and I left a little behind, with which I had some problems to overtake other motorcycles such as the area with a river where there was a lot of dust. Then, in the dunes, I was able to enjoy it a bit more. I felt very fast. I also found tracks that are not very reliable, but in general the navigation of this first stage was fairly easy.”

Dakar Stage Kevin Benavides
Kevin Benavides

Highly experienced Queenslander Rodney Faggotter took his time to settle in and wrapped up the opening stage with a 29th place result. Enjoying a good feeling aboard the latest version of the WR450F Rally, the Aussie looks to continue building on his speed during the coming stages.

Rodney Faggotter – P29

“Overall, I had a good day. I kept a steady pace from start to finish of the timed special and brought my bike home without any issues. My goal for the start of this race is to be consistent and remain inside the top 30 in the first stages. Today we raced about 70% of dunes and a long, dry and dusty river bed. Especially in that river bed you had to be extra careful to avoid mistakes. So far so good and now my eyes are set on tomorrow’s tough stage.”

Dakar Stage Rodney Faggotter
Rodney Faggotter

Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be one of the most unique stages of this Dakar 2019, as Joan Barreda will not be the first to open the race. That job will go to the cars who will start out before. When the bikes get their turn, they can look forward to a heavily churned up and rutted route after the passage of more than one hundred four-wheeled vehicles. After departing in Pisco, riders will head to the next bivouac in San Juan de Marcona after battling out the largest part of the stage in the dunes of Ica on a ride with a total of 554 kilometres including 342 special timed.


2019 Dakar Rally
Provisional Results Stage One

  1. BARREDA Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda Team 57’36
  2. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +01’34
  3. BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team +02’52
  4. VAN BEVEREN Adrien FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +02’55
  5. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +02’56
  6. PRICE Toby AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +03’08
  7. WALKNER Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team+03’12
  8. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +04’00
  9. CORNEJO José Ignacio CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +05’22
  10. DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +05’54
  11. GONCALVES Paulo POR Monster Energy Honda Team +06’41
    29.FAGGOTTER Rodney AUS Yamaha +11’27

Source: MCNews.com.au