Dakar stage two: Walkner wins as Price advances
The reigning champion Matthias Walkner pushes hard to take his third career stage victoryThe 553km second day of the 2019 Dakar Rally was a battle between Red Bull KTM’s Matthias Walkner and Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec.
The American was third off the line to start the second stage and started strongly, eking out a 10-second lead over Walkner by the 50km mark.
Aussie Toby Price (Red Bull KTM), who started sixth was over three minutes behind the leading duo down in 16th place. By the second way point, the Australian had climbed up to 11th and had gained six more places by the third moving himself into fifth.
Out in front, Walkner was piling the pressure on the American Honda Honda rider who led the stage from the first way point all the way through to the seventh, before being pipped by the Austrian KTM star at the post by just 22 seconds.
Brabec’s teammate and stage one winner Joan Barreda Port finished the stage in third place, which was enough to retain his lead in the overall rankings by one minute and 31 seconds over Walkner, who’s stage win lifts him from seventh after the opening day to second overall.
Despite the five-place advancement in the standings, Walkner questioned whether the risks he took in order to claim the stage win so early in the rally were worth it.
“I don’t know at the moment if it was such a good decision to push that much, because I have to look at how big the [overall] gaps are. I don’t think I caught up that much time,” he said.
“The most difficult was the fesh-fesh getting really loose. Sometimes with the bikes it was so deep that you can’t miss some stones, so it was quite dangerous at times, but it was fun.
“In the end, sure, it’s good to have a stage win. But there are still more long days coming.”
Aussie hero Price ended his second day in fourth overall, moving himself up one place in the overall classification to fifth, behind Brabec and Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla
Stage three will see competitors travel from San Juan de Marcona to Arequipa. Total distance is 898km, and the timed component is 331km.
The 2019 Dakar Rally will be held exclusively in Peru, and the 10-stage event concludes on 17 January in Lima.
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