Round four of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship opened with a short 10-kilometre Prologue. To determine the start order for Saturday’s stage one.
With riders opting for strategy rather than out-and-out speed. Many eased off to ensure a mid-pack result so as not to open Today’s stage. At 441 kilometres, the shortest of the event, stage one included a timed special of 288 kilometers, raced against the clock.
Opening with a short section of tracks. The route challenged competitors with 30 kilometers of dunes before returning to the sandy and stony pistes on the way to the finish.
Setting off ninth into the day’s stage, championship leader Matthias Walkner rode a solid special, slowly building his pace as the day progressed.
A dust storm mid-stage that affected most riders made navigation especially tricky.But Walkner was able to skillfully make it through without losing too many minutes to his rivals. Completing the stage in fourth, the Austrian will be aiming to chase down the three riders ahead of him on Sunday’s stage two.
Matthias
Matthias Walkner: “Finally, the first day is done, and it felt super-long after such a long break from racing. Everything felt fast especially first thing in the morning, like playing a computer game.
It took a little while to find my focus, but then things started to come together. And I was able to push a little more complicated. We had a massive sandstorm near the beginning of the stage that reduced visibility to around 20 meters, making the navigation even more challenging.
I’m happy with my stage, but there are still four long days to go, but so far, everything is good.”
Making his competitive debut with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, Kevin Benavides rode a vital stage, minimizing any mistakes.
The reigning Dakar Rally Champion completed the 288-kilometer timed special in 10th place.And with his confidence on the bike building, the Argentinian star is looking forward to tomorrow and the remainder of the race.
Kevin
Kevin Benavides: “Today went well for me. I made a couple of small mistakes early on, and I didn’t feel too comfortable pushing too much in all the dust. But after that when things cleared, I was able to increase my speed towards the end.
Riding the new bike was good, and although my result isn’t the best, I’m thrilled with how I managed the stage and how things felt. Tomorrow, I’ll continue the same, and hopefully, we can have another good day.”
Despite issues with his navigation equipment, Sam Sunderland completed stage one in a commendable 14th place. Showing strong pace up to the waypoint at kilometer 128, but with a malfunctioning GPS. It was hard for the Brit to push as hard as he wanted to. However, safely bringing his 2022 KTM 450 RALLY home inside the top 15, Sam will enjoy stage two’s highly advantageous start position.
Sam
Sam Sunderland: “It has been a little bit frustrating out there. Today, I started excited to get out on the new bike and put in some angry kilometers. And at first, things were going well. In the middle of the dunes, all my navigation equipment stopped working, and it left me a bit stuck.
I had no compass heading and no kilometer marker, and with the sandstorm, it was complicated to follow the lines in the sand. As far as the bike and myself go, it was all good. But every time I managed to get in a good rhythm, the organizers’ equipment would switch off. Still, a long way to go, so I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow.”
Posting the second-fastest time on Friday’s Prologue meant Toby Price was soon out front Today, opening the stage. First, to hit the sandstorm that caused issues for many riders.
Price ended up losing a significant amount of time after becoming lost and struggling to find his way back on track. Despite the setback.The twice Dakar Champion was pleased with how he rode and his new KTM 450 RALLY and now looks to continue evaluating the bike as the rally continues.
Toby
Toby Price: “It was not a great day for me Today. After my result in the Prologue yesterday, I soon found myself opening the stage. From around kilometre 30 to around 120, it was all fine. But then we hit the dust storm, and that got pretty bad.
Some of the other boys caught up, and we were riding back and forth, trying to find the piste. I got lost coming out of a riverbed.
And it ended up costing me around 40 minutes or so. So yeah, it’s been a rough day and not the way I wanted to start the Morocco rally. But there are still four more days to go, so we’ll keep testing the new bike and hopefully get some better results.”
Sunday’s stage two of the 2021 Rallye du Maroc will cover a total of 609.22 kilometers and include a timed special of 334.66 kilometers.
Provisional Results – Stage 1 Rally du Maroc 2021
- 1. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 2:58:53
- 2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:00:03
- 3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Honda, 3:01:52
- 4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:05:43
- 5. Daniel Sanders (AUS), GASGAS, 3:06:24
- Other KTM
- 10. Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:12:33
- 14. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:17:41
- 25. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:46:46
Provisional Standings – Rally du Maroc 2021 after 1 of 5 stages
- 1. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 3:25:57
- 2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:26:51
- 3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Honda, 3:29:08
- 4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:31:39
- 5. Daniel Sanders (AUS), GASGAS, 3:32:56
- Other KTM
- 11. Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:38:53
- 15. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:43:45
- 25. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 4:11:54
via KTM Press
