Toby Price has dropped further off the lead after the marathon 534km 10th stage of the Dakar Rally was substantially shortened for safety reasons following several crashes.
Organisers said their rescue helicopters were all deployed for fallen riders and with strong winds picking up, they decided on a shortened stage.
The Aussie title defender and leading KTM rider finished fourth, some three minutes behind Joan Barreda Bort (Honda, Spain), losing another couple of minutes to outright leader Ricky Brabec (Honda, USA).
If Brabec is victorious, he will be the first American to win the event and break KTM’s streak of 18 wins.
Sadly Paulo later died and the eighth stage was cancelled in his honour, leaving less opportunity for Toby to make up time.
Shortened course
Toby tackles the dunes
“Today’s stage was cut short due to safety reasons,” Toby says.
There were a lot of drops throughout the course and I guess when we’re all traveling at such high speeds they do catch you out. I hope there were no serious injuries today and wishing those injured competitors a fast recovery.
“The cancellation of today’s stage has made it that much tougher for us to make up the time we needed. I was hoping to start a little further back tomorrow to make up that time but unfortunately that won’t be happening.
“We’re still in this race and aiming to get to the finish line strong.”
“Now I can really focus on the small number of remaining days to try and close this gap up to the lead,” he says.
Toby is dedicating his race to the loss of his friend, Paulo or “Speedy”.
Toby out on his own
Top 5 rankings
1
9
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
34H 12′ 18”
2
5
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING
34H 38′ 02”
+ 00H 25′ 44”
3
12
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
34H 39′ 27”
+ 00H 27′ 09”
4
1
RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM
34H 40′ 51”
+ 00H 28′ 33”
00H 02′ 00”
5
17
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
34H 53′ 49”
+ 00H 41′ 31”
00H 01′ 00”
Other Aussies
Today it was fellow Aussie Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha) who stopped to help a fallen rider.
“He’s going to be ok and got him in the chopper,” says the veteran Queensland competitor.
Rodney stopped in the neutral zone and said it seemed they had run out of choppers to ferry the injured riders.
The consistent rider had his first non-top-20 finish with a 39th placing which only drops him one place to 134th outright.
Despite the big dropout of injured riders in the shortened stage, the other Aussie bike competitors are still in the event.
Fellow Aussie Ben Young (KTM) finished 76th and moves up three spots to 6oth in his second Dakar whileMatthew Tisdall (KTM) finished 101st and moves up two spots to 97th.
Like many Aussie sports stars and celebrities, Toby is raising money for the bushfire appeal.
He is auctioning his starting jersey and pants for firefighters
Toby is also doing his bit for the current critical bushfire situation by auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Current highest bid is still $13,001.
Auction closes on 18 January at 5pm (AEST).
If you can’t bid, please donate on this link. Sp far he has raised abouot $5000.
Kevin Benavides was the first to start the day’s special after completing the 450 km of link stage for the morning as riders recommenced the 2020 Dakar Rally following the cancellation of Stage 8 in respect for Paulo Goncalves. Argentinean Benavides set off three minutes ahead of Joan Barreda who was in turn followed 3 minutes later by Matthias Walkner.
Competitors would need to complete a 886-kilometre stage nine that led the field from Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh. Initially faced with an arduous liaison, riders then entered the timed special that presented all with a challenging route made up of rocky tracks and stony riverbeds.
Kevin Benavides was an early leader
Overall standings leader Ricky Brabec meanwhile started the ninth special of the rally in fifth position, behind Luciano Benavides, with Toby Price and Pablo Quintanilla setting off later and able to take advantage of the tracks left by the first riders to put in a strong performance. Toby Price was notable the fastest rider to reach the special, but it wasn’t too last…
A herd of particularly lively camels also made an appearance in a canyon 76 km into the special, with a helicopter quickly able to disperse them, ensuring they didn’t interfere with competitors.
Ricky Brabec took an early lead in the special, pulling ahead of Joan Barreda and Toby Price, with Barreda slowed by a minor fall.
Luciano Benavides
Kevin Benavides was the first rider of the day to reach the 34 kilometre long neutralised section of the stage, heading pace with Barreda and Walkner, who set off after him.
Australian Ben Young, sitting 63rd in the general standings heading into Stage 9, had had a relatively trouble-free Dakar until today, suffering a fall on the first part of the special. He raced half of the 2019 Dakar Rally with a broken hand on his first appearance in the event last year following a fall on the fifth stage.
Matthias Walkner
With as little as 30-seconds splitting the top riders at times for the day, it was Pablo Quintanilla who claimed top honours, ahead of Toby Price, with both putting pressure on overall standings leader Ricky Brabec, who trailed the leader by less than four minutes and was in fourth position.
Pablo Quintanilla
“It was a strange feeling this morning after what happened to Paulo, but I think it was good to get riding again. There was a long liaison this morning and it was very cold, but I felt better when we hit the special and I was able to push right away. In the end, I won the stage, which was a fitting way to honour Paulo. But now, with stage eight cancelled, my strategy is more complicated. My goal from here is to push and try to make up as much time over the final three days as possible.”
Pablo Quintanilla
Toby Price
“It’s been a long day today and with it being so fast, it’s was really difficult to make up any time on the others as we’re all so close on these full-gas stages. Obviously, it’s been a really tough day mentally but we’re still cruising along in the race and the main goal as always is to make it safely to the finish line. We entered the Empty Quarter a little today but to be honest we only had 30 kilometres or so of dunes. I’m hoping these next few days will feature more. There’s definitely a lot of kilometres left to go so we’ll just try and keep it on two wheels.”
Toby Price – Image by Rally Zone
Joan Barreda meanwhile was third fastest for the day, while Ross Branch completed the top five.
Joan Barreda
“A good sporting day. I started out second and already by the refuelling I was opening track and overtook Kevin. Then the dunes arrived and there was a confusing area of navigation. Finally we were able to maintain good pace and make it to the finish line well. I’ve been opening track and moving forward for several days and it’s not easy. There are two stages with sand, then a shorter one, so it won’t be easy to reduce the time. We will try to take it day by day and cut the time down as much as possible.”
Joan Barreda
Kevin Benavides and Luciano Benavides were sixth and seventh, with Jose Cornejo eighth, while Andrew Short and Matthias Walkner completed the top-10 for the day.
Aussie Rodney Faggotter remained strong and consistent, with 18th place just shy of 15-minutes off leading pace.
Rodney Faggotter
“Today I did 880+ kms! Solid day. Bike is down on top speed of the factory bikes but I’m happy with everything else, riding hard in the rough stuff to stay fast. Last few stages have been pretty boring track/racing wise and super fast but the scenery is magic! Like moonscape in places.”
The provisional standings following stage nine still see Ricky Brabec in the lead by almost 25-minutes, with Pablo Quintanilla second overall, and Jose Cornejo in third. Toby Price is fourth in the combined standings, ahead of Joan Barreda.
Ricky Brabec
“We feel pretty good. We are here at a windy bivouac. We are another day closer to the American dream of winning the Dakar. There’s three days left and tomorrow is the marathon. We have a lot of racing to do. The main goal now is to focus and stay positive after the incident that happened a few days ago. Right now we are going to rest and make sure our bikes are 100%, get some food, pack our bags for the marathon and try to stay positive. There’s a 21-minute gap in the general. So tomorrow Quintanilla and Toby start in front of me so the plan is to maybe catch them or maybe keep them in my sights. That way they will start in front of me for the next few days. I’m not really sure what is going to happen so we are just going to stay focused and not lose the twenty-one minutes. The marathon stage is really cool and is very relaxing. You don’t have to see the team and it’s only the riders in the bivouac. You can really soak in the camp life, because by now it’s stage ten or eleven and it’s nearly time to go home. It’ll be nice.”
Ricky Brabec
Rodney Faggotter retains his 13th place standing following the days efforts.
Aussie Toby Price has whittled a little off the lead of American Ricky Brabec with a strong second place in the 410km ninth stage of the Dakar Rally.
The 410km stage across rocky terrain was won by Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarana) less than two minutes ahead of Toby who is chasing his third win and a 19th consecutive victory for KTM.
Toby says with the stage being so fast it was difficult to make up any time up as riders were able to follow each other.
Brabec finished fourth with Toby shaving two minutes from the American’s overall lead.
With a 26-minute gap and only three stages to go, Toby has a real fight on his hands.
It comes two days after Toby stopped to help fallen rider Paulo Goncalves and stayed with him until the helicopters arrived. Sadly Paulo later died and the eighth stage was cancelled in his honour.
“Now I can really focus on the small number of remaining days to try and close this gap up to the lead,” he says.
Toby is dedicating his race to the loss of his friend, Paulo or “Speedy”.
We didn’t know Toby could speak French! (Sorry, no English video yet.)
Top 5 rankings
1
9
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
31H 59′ 29”
2
5
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING
32H 20′ 22”
+ 00H 20′ 53”
3
1
RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM
32H 26′ 12”
+ 00H 26′ 43”
00H 02′ 00”
4
12
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
32H 27′ 45”
+ 00H 28′ 16”
5
17
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
32H 28′ 58”
+ 00H 29′ 29”
00H 01′ 00”
Other Aussies
Queensland veteran competitorRodney Faggotter (Yamaha) is proving consistent with yet another top 20 finish.
He came in 18th and remains in 12th outright.
He says his bike is down on top speed from the factory bikes and he had to ride hard in the rough stuff.
“Last few stages have been pretty boring track/racing wise and super fast, but the scenery is magic! Like moonscape in places.”
Rodney Faggotter
Fellow Aussie Ben Young (KTM) finished 73rd despite a minor fall on the first part of the special stage.
It should be remembered that he rode half of his debut rally last year with a broken hand after a fall on stage 5. He drops back five places to 63rd.
The only other Aussie competing in the bike category is Matthew Tisdall (KTM) who finished 104th and moves up three spots to 99th.
Like many Aussie sports stars and celebrities, Toby is raising money for the bushfire appeal.
He is auctioning his starting jersey and pants for firefighters
Toby is also doing his bit for the current critical bushfire situation by auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
What happened this week
Dakar Rally mourns the loss of Paulo Gonçalves
Ken Roczen tops AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri
Austin Forkner closes in on 250SX lead
Nathan Watson continues French Beach Racing domination
Fricke crowned Aussie Senior Solo Speedway Champ
WA to host two International Solo Speedway friendlies
2021 Australian Speedway Solo Championships EoI open
2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled
2020 Championship Calendars
2020 AMA Motocross
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
2020 MXGP
2020 American Flat Track
2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
2020 Australian Track Championship
2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship
2020 King of MX
2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar
Dakar Rally mourns the loss of Paulo Gonçalves
After the accident which claimed the life of motorcycle rider Paulo Gonçalves, Stage Eight of the Dakar Rally 2020 was cancelled in the motorcycle category out of respect for the mourning of family and friends in the bivouac.
RIP Paulo Goncalves
Paulo won three Dakar Rally stages with Honda and claimed the runner-up spot in the 2015 edition. Previously after various victories in the 2013 world championship, Paulo clinched the title of FIM Cross-Country Rallies world champion in an epic triumph in Morocco. In 2014 he took the runner-up prize was third in the world championship in 2015 and 2017.
Paulo Gonçalves was a rider with Honda HRC, Monster Energy Honda Team from mid-2013 until mid-2019, joining Hero MotoSports Team Rally last year, and the spirited Portuguese rider won over the hearts of not only the entire team, but also all his companions in the bivouac, and of the fans.
Toby Price
“Paulo took off into the stage about five-minutes before me and I came over a small crest and saw a rider down and it was Paulo. Worst fears kicked in cause I knew this one was serious. I called for help ASAP and helped get him on his side (plus more serious checks). Then tried calling for more help and by this stage Stefan Svitko (also a champion) had arrived and was helping where he could. The first helicopter arrive and Luc Alphand was starting to help and as the medical helicopter arrived they were already on CPR and the doctors got to our sides and worked all they could. Helping holding drip bags, getting bags of medical equipment and guiding other riders around a bad scene. We all worked as long as we could but there was nothing we could do. I helped assist carrying him to the helicopter as it was the right thing to do. I was first at his side and wanted to be the last to leave. We will miss you’re smile and laughter in the bivouac Paulo. My last 250km of special stage was tough, I’m dehydrated from tears. At the moment I’m not even worried about the result, I couldn’t care. Many thoughts with family and friends on this day, we don’t start the rally day 8 for bike #8 in respect to family and friends and the loss of a HERO… Thank you to everyone for the messages of support worldwide, especially those from Portugal with all the kind things. We are human and this is nothing but just a race, I would give up all my wins to have any of my fellow racing mates back with us.”
Ken Roczen tops AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri
Zach Osborne scored the holeshotin the 450SX Main Event at the AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri, but Ken Roczen was all over him throughout the opening lap before then settling a little. Justin Barcia was in third place at this early stage of the race as Adam Cianciarulo worked his way up to fourth place after passing Jason Anderson.
AMA Supercross Round Two 2020
Roczen took the lead from Osborne and the Husqvarna man lost some time as the #94 Honda went past and that allowed Barcia to close and pass. Adam Cianciarulo and Jason Anderson were banging bars over fourth place but it was the more experienced Anderson that came out on top, Cianciarulo was then pushed further back to sixth place by Justin Brayton. Malcolm Stewart was running seventh ahead of Eli Tomac, Justin Hill and Blake Baggett.
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Adam Cianciarulo got his head down again eight-minutes in to the race and moved back past Brayton and up to fifth place, he then took fourth from Zach Osborne. A couple of laps later his Monster Energy Kawasaki team-mate Eli Tomac pushed Brayton further back to sixth place.
13-minutes into the race Roczen had a seven-second lead over Justin Barcia, who in-turn had three-seconds on Jason Anderson. Adam Cianciarulo was a further five-seconds behind in fourth place but with Zach Osborne, Eli Tomac and Malcolm Stewart right behind him.
Adam Cianciarulo
Adam Cianciarulo dropped the bike on the final lap while in fourth place but managed to pick the KX450F up and salvage seventh place ahead of Justin Brayton.
Almost three years since his last victory, after endless pain and extensive operations to try and repair horrific damage suffered to his arms, wrists and hands, the 25-year-old German stood again atop a supercross podium with what was a dominant victory.
Ken Roczen – P1
“This feels so surreal and is absolutely amazing. It’s been a long time coming with a lot of struggle in the process, so this is definitely one of the sweetest moments of my career. The emotions and joy from everyone is very special. I think tonight was just our night to win. The whole day was good, starting with feeling so much more comfortable on the bike than I did last week. We also grabbed a couple of solid starts in both races tonight. I rode really good in the heat race and even in the main. I’d say that I actually surprised myself and maybe the team a little with how the main event went; it was just our time to shine. I knew if I wanted to make it happen, I’d need to make my way to the front fast, so that’s what I did. I got around Zach [Osborne] quick and had a clear track, so then I just clicked off some great laps, putting a gap between myself and the field. At one point Justin [Barcia] seemed to close in a bit but I just focused on hitting my marks and managing my pace. The race felt really long because the lap times were fairly short; the tower was right after the finish so I could get a glance at the clock each lap—it seemed like it took forever! I’ve messed it up so many times in the last laps, so it’s not over until it’s actually over. I just tried to maintain a pace while also staying consistent and not making any mistakes. We’re going to enjoy this but then get back to work this week. This is a big confidence booster and really motivating for me to want to keep the momentum going.”
AMA Supercross Round Two 2020 – Ken Roczen tops the 450 Podium
Justin Barcia took second place ahead of Jason Anderson while Eli Tomac missed the podium in fourth. Zach Osborne took fifth place ahead of Malcolm Stewart. Australian Chad Reed failed to finish the race.
Justin Barcia – P2
“It was a pretty tough day for me. I was really sick all week, and I just had to be mentally tough and push through the difficulties I was having today. My heat race went really well. I got a bad start, but I fought through the pack and got up to third. I made some really great passes, so that was awesome. In the Main Event, I got a much better start and quickly moved into second. I was pushing really hard, but tonight the best I had was second. I rode really well, considering. I felt like I rode better today than I did in Anaheim. I just unfortunately was a little under the weather. So, all in all, a really good day. The team did a great job with the motorcycle and setting it up. I’m really looking to get better this week and feeling better for Anaheim.”
Justin Barcia
Jason Anderson – P3
“I’m just out here enjoying myself, I feel like I was riding pretty good in the Main. I got off to a good start and I kind of let the battling happen in front of me and then I worked my way through the guys I could and settled into third.”
Zach Osborne leads Jason Anderson
Eli Tomac – P4
“Well we didn’t finish the night where we wanted or should be, but the team and I will get back to work this week and get everything dialed before Anaheim next weekend. I know we’ll be focusing on my starts, which have really been hurting my chances at finishing on the podium, but we’ll get those dialed and make any other minor adjustments that need to be made so we can get back on top.”
Friese leads Steward, Baggett and Tomac
Justin Barcia retains the lead in the championship on 49-points while Ken Roczen moves up to second place on 43-points, four-points ahead of Adam Cianciarulo.
2020 AMA SX – 450SX Standings after Round 2
Pos
Rider
R1
R2
Total
1
Justin Barcia
26
23
49
2
Ken Roczen
17
26
43
3
Adam Cianciarulo
23
16
39
4
Jason Anderson
18
21
39
5
Eli Tomac
16
19
35
6
Blake Baggett
19
14
33
7
Cooper Webb
21
11
32
8
Malcolm Stewart
14
17
31
9
Justin Brayton
15
15
30
10
Zach Osborne
9
18
27
11
Aaron Plessinger
11
13
24
12
Justin Hill
12
12
24
13
Vince Friese
13
9
22
14
Dean Wilson
10
10
20
15
Justin Bogle
7
8
15
16
Martin Davalos
8
1
9
17
Chris Blose
3
5
8
18
Kyle Cunningham
0
7
7
19
Chad Reed
5
2
7
20
Benny Bloss
6
6
21
Tyler Bowers
6
6
22
Alex Ray
4
4
23
Kyle Chisholm
4
4
24
James Decotis
1
3
4
25
Fredrik Noren
2
2
Austin Forkner closes in on 250SX lead
Aussie teenager Jett Lawrence got a sensational start to the 250SX Main Event but Austin Forkner quickly swept past the Geico Honda youngster. Left on the deck on lap one was defending 250 West champ Dylan Ferrandis after he was rear-ended hard by Michael Mosiman. Ferrandis had to return to his mechanics in order to get damage to his machine repaired.
Jett Lawrence & Austin Forkner
Jett Lawrence maintained a strong second place over the opening laps while not letting Forkner to break away, while countrymen Luke Clout was running seventh and Aaron Tanti 12th.
Justin Cooper was fighting his way through the field with ten-minutes remaining, and moved past Hartranft for fourth place. A couple of minutes later he then dispensed with Christian Craig to move up to third.
Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence was within a second of race leader Forkner for the first two-thirds of the race but five-minutes from the end Jett made a small mistake and clipped a tough-block which bent his rear brake pedal back around on to his peg. That bobble allowed Cooper to pounce and move through to second place. A lap later Lawrence stopped to see his mechanics where they bent the brake lever back off his peg and the 16-year-old rejoined the race in fifth place but with his podium chance now gone.
Forkner managed to withstand the pressure from the closing Cooper to secure the win while Brandon Hartranft secured the final step on the rostrum ahead of Alex Martin.
Austin Forkner – P1
“Man, what a tough day. It’s always a difficult pill to swallow when you end your day early, especially when you’re riding well and feeling good in the beginning. I made a small mistake in qualifying and just couldn’t really recover after that crash. I was hurting pretty badly, so the team and I all made the decision to call it a day and get checked out in hopes to recover quicker for the long season ahead.”
Austin Forkner
Justin Cooper – P2
“Last weekend I had it pretty easy. I was just out front clicking off my laps. This weekend was a different story. I felt good all day, but I didn’t put myself in the best positions in the races tonight. I just had to put my head down and take my time and come through the pack. Once you get the feeling of victory, you don’t want to lose it. But this feels like a win tonight. It was a good learning curve for me. We’re going to hold the red plate and we’re going to hold onto it tight. We’re going to fight for this championship.”
Justin Cooper
Brandon Hartranft – P3
“Honestly, I’m still in shock about what happened tonight, this podium couldn’t have come at a better time for me. The team and I have put in a lot of work this off-season and I definitely couldn’t have done this without them!”
Brandon Hartranft
Jett Lawrence salvaged that fifth place after what had been a hugely encouraging performance for the youngster. Luke Clout took a great seventh, while fellow Aussie Aaron Tanti claimed 13th.
Jett Lawrence – P5
“Gave it everything I had last night. Unfortunately I clipped a damn tough block which wrapped my rear brake around my peg and locked on my brake causing me to come into pit lane. Thanks for all the messages and comments I appreciate it. thanks to my team and sponsors. Back to work this week!”
Jett Lawrence
Luke Clout – P7
“I felt more like myself tonight. Finishing 4th in the Heat was great and it’s much closer to where I want to be. I am getting more comfortable on the 250 as well.”
Justin Cooper is the 250 West Championship leader on 49 points following Round 2, five-points ahead of Austin Forkner. Jett Lawrence currently ranks equal fifth in the series with Alex Martin.
2020 AMA SX – 250SX Standings after Round 2
Pos
Rider
R1
R2
Total
1
Justin Cooper
26
23
49
2
Austin Forkner
18
26
44
3
Brandon Hartranft
16
21
37
4
Dylan Ferrandis
23
11
34
5
Alex Martin
13
19
32
6
Jett Lawrence
14
18
32
7
Jacob Hayes
12
17
29
8
Derek Drake
15
13
28
9
Christian Craig
21
1
22
10
Michael Mosiman
19
3
22
11
Mitchell Oldenburg
7
15
22
12
Carson Brown
8
14
22
13
Luke Clout
2
16
18
14
Cameron Mcadoo
17
17
15
Michael Leib
11
6
17
16
Killian Auberson
9
8
17
17
Robbie Wageman
10
5
15
18
Derek Kelley
4
9
13
19
Martin Castelo
12
12
20
Aaron Tanti
0
10
10
21
Mitchell Falk
1
7
8
22
Jay Wilson
6
6
23
Logan Karnow
5
0
5
24
Cheyenne Harmon
4
4
25
Chris Howell
3
3
26
Ludovic Macler
0
2
2
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Nathan Watson continues French Beach Racing domination
Nathan Watson has secured his third victory of the season in the Championnat de France des Sables, extending his series lead following a commanding win at round six in Grayan-et-L’Hopital.
Nathan Watson – Image by Pascal Haudiquert
The penultimate stop of the French Beach Racing championship saw competitors travel to the south west of France, near Bordeaux, for round five. A mixture of a high-speed sandy beach and rough dunes ensured a thorough and demanding test for all at Grayan-et-L’Hopital. High tides resulted in the original three-hour race distance being cut short to just over two hours.
At a course he favours, Watson wasted no time in positioning himself at the head of the field. Claiming a top-five start, he powered his KTM 450 SX-F into the lead on the opening lap. Comfortable out front he set the pace, pulling one minute and 20 seconds clear of his rivals as the race entered its latter stages.
However, unaware that organisers had cut the race distance from three hours to just over two because of a turning tide, Watson still completed his three scheduled fuel stops. Without risk of losing position, he went on to win by almost 50 seconds from Todd Kellett and Camille Chapeliere.
Nathan Watson
“Overall, I had a really great race today. As beach races go, this one went pretty much perfectly. I’m not sure what it is about this place but I enjoy coming here and love the mixture of open high-speed beach and rough sections in the surrounding forest. We made some changes to the bike to allow for more power and speed and that helped me get a good start. I was about top five, but made some quick overtakes and hit the front on the opening lap. I was able to lead every lap and felt comfortable controlling the pace. Towards the end the organisers cut the race short. I could have avoided an extra fuel stop to save time, but I had already done my three stops at that point, so although I lost time there thankfully it all worked out ok. It’s the final push now towards Enduropale du Touquet. I feel in a good place and go there confident and focused on defending my crown.”
Nathan Watson – Image by Pascal Haudiquert
The CFS: Championnat de France des Sables concludes with Round Seven at Enduropale du Touquet on 2 February.
Championnat de France des Sables Round 6: Grayan-et-L’Hopital Results
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Fricke crowned Aussie Senior Solo Speedway Champ
Max Fricke has taken out the 2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championships in front of a packed South Australian crowd at Gillman Speedway, where fans were treated to the best racing this season. Riders diced all night in tight lines early in the heats before finding significant speed out wide later in the evening.
Despite Fricke securing the championship earlier in the night on points, it was Jack Holder who blitzed the field in the final race, with Fricke second, Rohan Tungate third, and Josh Pickering fourth. Holder’s Final win backed up his performance earlier in the night where he picked better lines and demonstrated superior speed.
Fricke played it safe at the finale to wrap up his second national title in succession and looks in fine form for his European campaign later this year.
Max Fricke
“It’s nice to know that it’s all wrapped up now and I can relax a bit. It’s really nice to know that I’ve come away with it (the championship) now. It’s nice to be able to put myself as a back to back champion with all the names on the trophy. I’m over the moon and can’t thank everyone enough.”
Max Fricke
2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship Final Points
Max Fricke 71
Jack Holder 62
Rohan Tungate 59
Chris Holder 57
Jaimon Lidsey 55
Brady Kurtz 47
Josh Pickering 38
Sam Masters 37
Ryan Douglas 26
Zach Cook 20
Rob Medson 20
Justin Sedgmen 19
Ben Cook 17
Jordan Stewart 16
Jack Morrison 6
Patrick Hamilton 1
2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship Round Five – Gillman Points
Jack Holder 20
Max Fricke 16
Rohan Tungate 16
Chris Holder 13
Josh Pickering 13
Jaimon Lidsey 12
Brady Kurtz 10
Sam Masters 8
Ben Cook 7
Rob Medson 6
Justin Sedgmen 5
Zach Cook 5
Ryan Douglas 4
Jack Morrison 1
Jordan Stewart 1
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
WA to host two International Solo Speedway friendlies
By Graeme Sinden
Western Australian motorcycle speedway followers are in for a huge treat come mid-January when the Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA host, not one, but two International Solo Speedway friendlies between Australia and Great Britain at their Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway complex near Wanneroo.
These two big nights of International solo racing between Australia and England are reminiscent of the official Test Matches that were regularly held at speedway venues around the country back in the ’80s and early ’90s including, Claremont Speedway in the days when Australia’s International solo Champion, Aub Lawson operated the famous venue and again when Con Migro took over the reigns as it’s Promoter.
Three times World Solo Champion, Tai Woffinden and his close friend, businessman, Limited WA State Sprintcar Champion and President of the Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA, Marshall McDiarmid formulated the plan to bring some young ‘Team England’ riders to Australia and race off in a couple of International Friendlies against some quality Australia riders.
The plan was to allow some up and coming young British riders to live, work and train together just as any professional team would do in an attempt to develop comradery, understanding, rider skills and indeed life skills and enable them to take these valuable experiences forward in the hope it will strengthen the UK World Cup Team in future years.
As the idea grew, the number of people in the planning process expanded and what initially started out as a thought bubble between two good friends, each with a passion for solo racing, will finally become a reality when these two great Nations face off against each other over two big nights of traditional solo speedway racing on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th January at Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway in Perth Western Australia.
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
2021 Australian Speedway Solo Championships EoI open
Hot on the heels of the successful 2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship, Motorcycling Australia has today released expressions of interest for clubs or promoters to host the 2021 national speedway championships.
The 2020 five round Championship was a success because of the dedication and professionalism of local clubs and Australia’s world class riders.
Rohan Tungate – 2020 Australian Solo Senior Speedway Round 2
An Australian Championship is the pinnacle of competition in Australia and a great way to promote your club and your community whilst providing an opportunity for your local riders to compete amongst the best in Australia.
These meetings bring competitors and spectators from all over Australia.
Applications are open to clubs that wish to host the 2021 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship, Under 16’s 250cc Solo Championship and Under 21’s Solo Championship.
Upon receipt of Expression of Interest, Motorcycling Australia will send additional information on the specific championship and the requirements.
Expression of interest forms can be found on the Motorcycling Australia website www.ma.org.au
2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled
Husqvarna Motorcycles have announced the 2020 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team, featuring team riders Thomas Kjer Olsen, Jed Beaton and EMX250 rider Kay de Wolf.
2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled – Image by Bavo Swijgers
With the opening round of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship now only a little over seven weeks away, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team are currently based in Spain, at the Redsand MX Park facility, where all three riders are working on both their off-bike physical training and riding, aboard their FC 250 machines.
The team’s first official outing of 2020 will be the Hawkstone Park International in England on February 9. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team will then ready themselves for the start of the 20-round FIM Motocross World Championship, which kicks off with the GP of Great Britain on March 1 at Matterley Basin.
Jed Beaton – 2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 Team – Image by Bavo Swijgers
Rasmus Jorgensen – Team Manager
“With the start of the season not too far away now, things have been going really well recently. All riders took some much-needed time off at the end of last year before starting their physical preparations in November and returning to riding in December, in Belgium. Since the New Year we’ve been in Spain at Redsand MX Park and the atmosphere among the three riders is really positive – it’s great to see so much energy and willingness to work hard. Ahead of us are many more weeks of training and testing, but all riders are already feeling really comfortable and enjoying both the on and off bike work we’re doing. We’re all looking forward to the first race at Hawkstone.”
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
2020 Championship Calendars
2020 AMA Motocross race schedule
May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar
Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
2020 MXGP Calendar
March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
Aussie Toby Price (pictured above) and others stopped to help fallen riderPaulo Goncalves yesterday (12 January 2020) in the Dakar Rally.
They came across the Portuguese rider at the 276km mark of the epic 546 stage.
Paulo was unconscious and Toby and some other riders stayed with him until the helicopters arrived. Sadly, Paulo passed away in hospital.
He had raced in every rally since his debut in 2006 with four top 10 finishes and a second place in 2015.
Stage eight of the rally today has been cancelled in Paulo’s honour.
Toby still in contention
Toby finished 51st on the longest stage of the Saudi Arabian event, but the time he spent helping Paulo was deducted and his overall position adjusted.
On the adjusted timings, Toby is fourth overall and only 28 minutes behind the leaders.
The seventh stage was won by Spaniard Joan Barreda Bort, ahead of Toby’s KTM teammates Matthias Walkner (Austria) and Luciano Benavides (Argentina) with Bort’s Honda teammate, Ricky Brabec, in fourth (USA).
Barreda Bort
Ricky now leads outright and looks the most consistent rider with two stage wins.
If victorious, he would be the first American to win the Dakar and it would halt the impressive 18 consecutive wins for KTM.
Top 5 rankings
POS.
N°
EXP.
DRIVE-TEAM
MARK-MODEL
TIME
VARIATION
PENALTY
1
9
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
28H 25′ 01”
2
5
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING
28H 49′ 49”
+ 00H 24′ 48”
3
17
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
28H 52′ 02”
+ 00H 27′ 01”
00H 01′ 00”
4
1
RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM
28H 53′ 45”
+ 00H 28′ 44”
00H 02′ 00”
5
12
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
28H 54′ 30”
+ 00H 29′ 29”
Other Aussies
Queensland veteran competitor Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha) has now moved to be right with Toby.
He finished the epic stage in 17th, moving up two outright spots to be 12th.
Fellow Aussie Ben Young (KTM) finished strongly in 54th place in his second Dakar, moving up nine positions to 57th overall.
Matthew Tisdall (KTM) had his best finish yet with 99th place and is now 102nd outright.
Like many Aussie sports stars and celebrities, Toby is raising money for the bushfire appeal.
He is auctioning his starting jersey and pants for firefighters
Toby is also doing his bit for the current critical bushfire situation by auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Stage Seven of the 2020 Dakar Rally has proven a sad day in the event’s history with Paulo Goncalves passing away after a fall 276 kilometres into the special, with medical staff finding him unconscious on arrival, after being alerted to the incident and quickly attending. Following resuscitation efforts in situ, he was transported to Layla Hospital via helicopter where he was sadly pronounced dead.
As a mark of respect to such a beloved figure in the Dakar bivouac who had been a fixture at the Dakar Rally since 2006 and was competing in his 13th Dakar, Monday’s motorbike and quad stage has been cancelled in order to give riders time to mourn their friend.
Our condolences to his friends, family and fellow Dakar competitors and team members.
Stage Seven saw Joan Barreda finish the stage as the first rider, however Kevin Benavides was one of several riders, including Toby Price and Stefan Svitko, who stopped to provide assistance to downed rider Paulo Goncalves, with results later updated to take this into account.
Kevin Benavides – Image by Rally Zone
As a result Kevin Benavides claimed the top position for Stage Seven, finishing 1min-23s ahead of teammate Joan Barreda, while KTM’s Matthias Walkner was third, 4min-17s off the leading time.
Dakar leader Ricky Brabec made for the third Monster Energy Honda Team rider in the top five, with teammate Jose Cornejo sixth.
Toby Price was seventh fastest in the updated results – 7min-57s off the leading pace, with the Dakar noting he spent a considerable amount of time trying to assist Paulo Goncalves, with the organiser sharing earlier, “Toby Price has finished Stage Seven in a time 1 h and 23 minutes slower than Barreda’s. However, the Australian spent a long time trying to help Paulo Goncalves, so his actual position will be calculated later today as well Stefan Svitko’s.”
Toby Price was first rider to the scene of Paulo Goncalves’s fall
The RockStar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing duo of Pablo Quintanilla and Andrew short were eighth and ninth, while Franco Caimi was top Yamaha in tenth. Quintanilla is also reportedly struggling with tendinitis in his left hand.
Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) finished the day in 19th place, 20min-02s off the leading pace.
The standings following Stage Seven now see Ricky Brabec leading with a time of 28h 25min-01s, with Pablo Quintanilla running second, 24min-48s off the leader’s pace. Third is Jose Cornejo, with Toby Price fourth – 28min-44s off leader Brabec. Joan Barreda completes the top five.
Ricky Brabec
“On arriving we heard the news about Paulo. We all know that motorcycling is a dangerous sport, but today is a really sad day for the people of Cross-Country Rallies. Our thoughts are with the family. The race standings don’t mean anything anymore. It’s secondary. Life goes way beyond sport.”
Ricky Brabec – Image by Rally Zone
KTM’s Matthias Walkner and Luciano Benavides now sit in sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Skyler Jones, Franco Caimi and Stefan Svitko.
Jordi Viladoms – KTM Rally Team Manager
“It has been an extremely sad day for the rally family and of course we send our condolences to Paulo’s family and friends. He was very much loved in the paddock – not only a great rider but also an amazing person and a legend of our sport. Obviously, the news has shocked us deeply, but no one more so than Toby, who was the first to reach Paulo after his crash. We are thankful that in respect for Paulo’s loved ones, and to pay tribute to a great man, tomorrow’s stage will be cancelled for the motorcycles. A day without racing will give all riders the chance to remember Paulo and clear their heads before continuing on Tuesday. Of course, we all hope for a safe finish to the event.”
Rodney Faggotter sits just outside the top-10 in 13th position in the general rankings.
Stage Eight was set to take place in the south of Saudi Arabia, looping back to Wadi Al-Dawasir, however has now been cancelled for the bike and quads categories to give riders time to mourn.
Jack has promised to sign the helmet and ship it out to the recipient.
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmet
Toby auctions gear
Toby is also auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Current highest bid is still $13,001.
Auction closes on 18 January at 5pm (AEST).
If you can’t bid, please donate on this link. So far he has raised $2777.
Bushfire appeals
There is a host of bushfire appeals you can donate to. See the list below.
Otherwise, we suggest helping local communities by waiting until the emergency has passed, then visiting the areas and spending your money on fuel, food and gifts.
Royal Enfield Australia has announced a five-day “Coastal Tour” departing from Melbourne on 7 March 2020, navigating the east coast to Noosa on 11 March.
The event is open to all Royal Enfield riders for the full ride or partial rides in their local areas. Click here to register.
To help people looking to donate safely and effectively, the National Bushfire Recovery Agency has published a list of registered charities that accept tax deductible donations and are running bushfire appeals.
The initiative is in response to the difficulty for many in identifying charities and fundraisers with the capacity to deliver relief and whose focus is on bushfire relief or recovery.
People who want to donate to a charity should check the charity’s details on the ACNC Charity Registeracnc.gov.au/findacharity. To confirm if their chosen charity has tax deductible status, they can access the ABN link on a charity’s record.
After the first six gruelling days of the 2020 Dakar Rally, riders have enjoyed a day of rest to mark the mid-way point in Riyadh, with Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team) leading the combined standings with a 20min-56s lead over Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna Factory Rally Team), with Toby Price (KTM Factory Racing Team) the leading KTM mounted rider.
Toby Price was regulated to third overall, after losing a tyre on Stage Six
Toby Price notably had the tyre come off his rear wheel in Stage Six, receiving assistance from Andrew Short to get moving, which saw him outside the top ten, and drop to third overall.
Jose Cornego and Joan Barreda of the Monster Energy Honda Team completed the top five, giving Honda three of the top five riders at the mid-way point, while Matthias Walkner and Luciano Benavides represented KTM in sixth and seventh.
Monster Energy Honda Team currently hold three of the top five positions, with Brabec topping the list
KTM mounted Skyler Howes and Stefan Svitko are running eighth and ninth, while top ranked Yamaha rider is Franco Caimi with the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team.
Aussie Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) has also been putting in a strong effort sitting just outside the top-10 in 13th place after Stage Six, with Ben Young currently sitting 66th, Trevor Wilson 88th, and Matthew Tisdall 108th. New Zealand’s Phillip Wilson also currently ranks 63rd.
Stage Seven onwards
After a well-earned rest day, competitors now leave Riyadh for the final week of racing, and Stage Seven incorporates the longest special of the 2020 Dakar Rally, sure to be a hugely challenging return to competition. Heading south-west, racers will need to rely on their navigational skills to tackle the scattered dunes.
Pablo Quintanilla
Looping back to Wadi Al-Dawasir, Stage Eight takes place in the south of Saudi Arabia. Unique to this stage is a 40-kilometre straight line, which will be a huge contrast to the mountain ranges riders will encounter on the same day.
With the end of the event drawing ever nearer, Stage Nine will be the longest of the 2020 Dakar Rally. Totalling 886 kilometres, riders will venture north-east to Haradh where they’ll be faced with hard and rough terrain. Cautious riding will be the name of the game in order to reach the finish ahead of Stage 10 and the event’s second marathon stage.
The second marathon begins with riders encountering 30 kilometres of rolling sand dunes, testing their endurance and ability to navigate. Adjoining with Stage 11, competitors will need to conserve their bikes as no mechanical assistance is permitted at the end of the stage.
Andrew Short stopped to assist Toby Price in Stage 6
Saudi Arabia’s finest dunes welcome competitors during the initial 80 kilometres of the 744-kilometre Stage 11. Riders will also be mindful of reaching the end of this penultimate leg of the event safely and successfully completing the second part of the marathon.
Friday, January 17 marks the end of the 2020 Dakar Rally, with a 447-kilometre stage from Haradh to Qiddiya.
Ricky Brabec has shown why he’s leading the Dakar 2020 standings, claiming the Stage Six win in the provisional results, with competitors undertaking the second-longest stage of the event with 830 km covered inclusive of a 477 kilometre special – consisting mainly of sandy tracks and dunes.
Ricky Brabec
“The day was good. I didn’t really have a strategy. I wanted to catch Andrew Short who started in front of me and I did just that. I rode with him all day. It was very unfortunate for Toby because he had a wheel mishap at maybe kilometre 330. I rode to the end and now we have a rest day and I have a 20-minute lead in the general and that’s really awesome. It’s really nice knowing that. I can’t really believe it. It’s incredible. So now we are going to get some rest and recoup and refresh and get ourselves together ready for the next six days in Saudi Arabia. I’m more excited that we are here in warm weather than I am at being here for the rest day. I hate being cold. I have three layers on right now but it’s warmer and I’m liking it. Nacho’s riding really well. He’s a great team-mate and a great-camper mate. The problem with Toby is going to set him on fire next week, so we have to be careful next week. Hopefully we can stay ahead of him. I won the stage today so I have to lead out. Hopefully I can lead out well. So we will rest and put our things together and hope for a good day.”
Ricky Brabec
Fellow Monster Honda Team rider Joan Barreda was second fastest, trailing Brabec by 1min-34s, while KTM’s Matthias Walkner completed the top three, 2min-45s off the leader.
Joan Barreda
“Today I am very happy after the problems I have had recently which I’ve been trying to save something from the stages and have been trying to get the good sensations back. The truth is that I felt much better today and I kept a good pace but I also tried to focus on not making any navigational errors. I tried to regulate the pace as it was very fast throughout the day. I much prefer the dunes, which is what I’m most used to. I don’t remember a race with so many days running over rocky terrain. But well we are making positive progress which is the important thing.”
Joan Barreda – Image by Rally Zone
Matthias Walkner
“It was a very intense stage today – very long and maybe 80 percent full gas the whole way. It was tough both physically and mentally and I’m glad of the rest day tomorrow. My pace was good today, I felt comfortable and didn’t make any mistakes. With the first half of the rally done I think we are in good shape – everyone is really fast this year and it’s going to be close. The goal, as always, is to make it safely to the end, so hopefully I’ll have a good second half to the rally.”
Matthias Walkner
Rounding off the top five was Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla, and Luciano Benavides.
Pablo Quintanilla
“I’m really happy with my performance today and with my position in the standings before the rest day. The stage was really tough for the guys at the front as we knew we would be finding the line for the whole way. We were able to set a solid pace and I didn’t lose so much time, which was good. The stage was really fast with long caps between camel grass and dunes. Towards the final 50 kilometres my body was really starting to feel tired. I’m looking forward to the rest day now and then hopefully I can have a good second half to the rally.”
Pablo Quintanilla
Luciano Benavides
“The first part of the stage today was really nice – I enjoyed it a lot. My brother caught me and we were riding together for a good while. It was a tough stage, like every stage so far. It’s really good to finish fifth, which sets me up well for the next half of the rally. I’m pleased with my riding and the bike feels great – I’ve really found a good rhythm this year.”
Luciano Benavides
Stage Five winner, Australian Toby Price was just outside the top-10 in 11th sharing that his rear wheel fell of his bike – with Andrew Short providing his to get him moving again, and ended up 16min-33s off leading pace, while fellow Australian Rodney Faggotter has remained consistent, taking 16th.
Following Stage Six and based on the provisional results, Ricky Brabec has retained his lead in the overall rankings, while Pablo Quintanilla has taken over the runner up position, with Toby Price pushed down to third, 25min-39s of leader Brabec.
Toby Price
“Today’s stage started out really good, we were navigating really well from the front and was only losing small amounts of time on the riders who started behind me so I was quite happy with the way I was racing, but unfortunately around the 400km mark my rear tyre fell off! I have no idea why this would have happened but I’m super grateful that Andrew Short pulled up and gave me his wheel which allowed me to get to the finish as quick as possible so thank you again for this mate! Overall I’m pretty gutted that this is how we finished up today but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes!”
Toby Price
Andrew Short also put in an excellent performance on the gruelling special, pushing hard and enjoying the sandy conditions, Andrew chose to stop and assist his friend Toby Price, completing the stage in 24th position, just 35 minutes down on the day’s winner.
Andrew Short
“It was certainly a very different day for me today. I was really fast at the beginning of the stage – I started third and was able to push right away to try and catch my teammate in front of me. Things were going really good, the sand was a lot of fun to ride. About 50 kilometres from the end I stopped to help Toby. In situations like today you have to think quickly, I figured I was an hour down already in the overall after a tough couple of stages early on, so I helped my friend. Overall, I’m happy because I rode really well today and was able to mix it with the top guys. Some rest tomorrow will be good, and then it’s all systems go for the second half of the race.”
Andrew Short
Jose Cornejo and Joan Barreda are ranked fourth and fifth, while Rodney Faggotter currently sits 13th.
Rodney Faggotter
“Position 16th and up to 13th overall! Very happy with how things are going and to make it to the rest day tomorrow in good shape. Time for some sleep!”
Aussie Toby Price lost 16 valuable minutes when his rear tyre came off in the sand dunes on stage six of the first Dakar Rally to be held in Saudi Arabia.
The stage was won by American and Honda factory team rider Ricky Brabec who moves further ahead in outright first as the competitors reach a valuable half-way rest day in the gruelling event.
Toby, who is the title holder chasing his third Dakar victory and KTM’s record 19th consecutive win, finished 11th.
He had been just nine minutes off the leader in second outright, but now slips one spot to third, some 25 minutes off the pace.
Top 5 rankings
POS.
N°
EXP.
DRIVE-TEAM
MARK-MODEL
TIME
VARIATION
PENALITY
1
9
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
23H 43′ 47”
2
5
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING
24H 04′ 43”
+ 00H 20′ 56”
3
1
RED BULL KTM FACTORY TEAM
24H 09′ 26”
+ 00H 25′ 39”
00H 02′ 00”
4
17
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
24H 09′ 28”
+ 00H 25′ 41”
00H 01′ 00”
5
12
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020
24H 16′ 45”
+ 00H 32′ 58”
Down in the dunes
The 455km special sage was 100% sand dunes which usually favour Toby who has won the Australian Finke race a record four times and the Hattah Desert Race five times.
However, he ran into some bad luck.
“Today’s stage started out really good,” Toby says.
“We were navigating really well from the front and I was only losing small amounts of time on the riders who started behind me so I was quite happy with the way I was racing, but unfortunately around the 400km mark my rear tyre fell off!
“I have no idea why this would have happened but I’m super grateful that Andrew Short pulled up and gave me his wheel which allowed me to get to the finish as quick as possible so thank you again for this mate.
“Overall I’m pretty gutted that this is how we finished up today but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes.”
Toby can be expected to come out fighting in the second week of the rally as he usually does.
Meanwhile, Queensland veteran competitor Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha) was 16th, moving up three outright spots to 13th.
Fellow Aussie Ben Young (KTM) again finished a respectable 60th in his second Dakar, but dropped two spots to 66th.
Matthew Tisdall (KTM) finished 104th out of 117 stage finishers and is up six places to 107th outright.
Like many Aussie sports stars and celebrities, Toby is raising money for the bushfire appeal.
He is auctioning his starting jersey and pants for firefighters
Toby is also doing his bit for the current critical bushfire situation by auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Bringing you the Best Motorcycle News from Around the Web!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
Toby tackles the dunes
Toby out on his own
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmet
Deus Trumpy
Rodney Faggotter
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmet
Barreda Bort
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmet
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmet