Thrilling Event
Every year Dakar is exciting, and this year too, we see it. We saw some thrilling moments on day three in the second half of the event’s Super Marathon stage.
The 504-kilometer looped scene featured 427 kilometers of timed exclusive that made the road via mountains and canyon in the north direction of the country.
All competitors came across a GPS issue that made it hard to find a way forward in the event.
That eventually made organizers note the results from kilometer-389, rather than the final 427-kilometer mark as initially scheduled.
Eighth to enter the day’s stage, Matthias Walkner completed the majority of the special without issue.
The experienced Austrian racer chose to focus on his roadbook and navigation rather than push too hard on the technical terrain and risk mistakes.
The decision paid off for the 2018 Dakar champion, who ultimately posted the fourth quickest time of the day to move up to third overall in the provisional standings.
Quotes
Matthias Walkner: “I rode well today, so I’m happy about that, and the bike is performing well too, which is great. Right from the start today, navigation was tricky, and you have to concentrate on the roadbook a lot.
I came close to hitting some big rocks hidden in the sand today – it’s difficult to find the right balance between maintaining good speed and the navigation. The missing waypoint caught everyone out, so that caused some issues toward the end of the stage. All-in-all I feel good, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Also, making the most of his experience when the going gets tough, Toby Price completed the shortened stage as fifth fastest, just seconds down on teammate Walkner.
The phase one winner moves up to sixth in the general rankings and will enjoy a good start position for Wednesday’s stage four.
Toby Price: “It’s been a tough day, but not too bad. Things were going well in the morning – a few mistakes here and there but nothing too bad.
I just tried to stay on two wheels, ride safe and bring it home. The issue towards the end threw us all a bit, but it’s nice that the organizers acknowledged that quickly and rectified the results.
The stage was wonderful – lots of canyons and camels – I’m feeling good and keen to get going again tomorrow.”
Continuing to set a steady, consistent pace, Luciano Benavides put in an excellent ride on stage three to finish as seventh fastest.
Despite a couple of navigational mistakes and an injury to his hand, the young Argentinian brought his KTM 450 RALLY home safely, just minutes behind teammates Walkner and Price. Luciano now sits seventh in the provisional overall standings.
Dakar
Luciano Benavides: “It was a tricky day today, I felt good for the first half and only made one small mistake. The bike is feeling good here in Saudi Arabia, we have it set up very well for the changes in terrain, and that helps to give me a little more confidence.
Unfortunately, when everyone got lost with the missing waypoint, a stone flew up from another rider and hit my hand – I’m hoping it’s not too badly hurt, and I’m ok for tomorrow.”
Second, on stage two, Sam Sunderland found himself opening the day’s special after overtaking the early leader. Navigating well throughout the mixed terrain, Sam enjoyed a steady pace right until the neutralization.
A small mistake then cost the reigning FIM World Champion several minutes before then being the first to encounter the GPS issue later on. Despite his challenges, Sunderland posted the 14th fastest time and lay ninth in the provisional overall standings.
Sam Sunderland: “The stage didn’t start too well for me as I had a small issue with my GPS, but after that, I was able to push on and made my way to the front. I think I did a good job of opening the stage and didn’t make too many mistakes.
After the refueling I was the first to come across the missing waypoint and struggled for a long time to work it out, the other riders caught me there, and it was a bit chaotic until we worked it out. Thankfully, that has all is sorted now, and I can concentrate on winning back sometime tomorrow.”
Stage four of the 2020 Dakar Rally will present another long day in the saddle for riders. From Neom, a liaison traveling south along the coast of the Red Sea follows by a 453-kilometer timed unique that will include a mixture of sandy pistes and faster, gravel tracks. After a total of 672 kilometers, competitors will reach the bivouac at Al-‘Ula.
Results
Provisional Results Stage Three – 2020 Dakar Rally
1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:29:31
2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:35:27 +5:56
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:36:53 +7:22
4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:37:44 +8:13
5. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:38:06 +8:35
Other KTM
7. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:42:01 +12:30
14. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:50:52 +21:21
103. Mario Patrao (POR), KTM, 5:52:03 +2:22:32
Provisional Standings (after stage three) – 2020 Dakar Rally
1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 10:39:04
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 10:43:47 +4:43
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 10:45:06 +6:02
4. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda 10:50:06 +11:02
5. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 10:50:23 +11:19
Other KTM
6. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 10:51:02 +11:58
7. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 10:53:24 +14:20
9. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 10:56:14 +17:10
45. Mario Patrao (POR), KTM, 14:26:25 +3:47:21
Source : KTM
