Price dominates stage five

Australia's Toby Price piloted his factory KTM to a superb victory in stage five of the 2016 Dakar Rally yesterday (January 7), as riders and drivers crossed the border from Argentina into Bolivia.

Price completed the stage in four hours, three minutes and 44 seconds (4.03:44), 2:21 ahead of teammate Antoine Meo, with Slovakian Stefan Svitko (2:33) making it a trifecta for KTM.

Price also rocketed up the leader board to third outright, 1:37 behind Portugal's Paolo Goncalves and only two seconds behind second-placed Svitko. Goncalves was 12th in stage five.

"They were long stages and I had to look after the bike and make sure we made no mistakes, and also look after the tyres," said Price. "Yesterday we were back a little bit but we still made some good times. Today was a stage win and we’re back in contention again and hopefully we can get a good day in tomorrow.

"Today was really fast tracks but the bike is holding up well. The special went from wide open to tight technical and I had to adjust to that. Now I have to maintain a good position each day.”

The stage was a milestone in Dakar statistics as riders had to climb to an altitude of 4600m near the end of the 328km timed special, the highest point ever in the competition. A number of riders — Price wasn't one of them though — had problems adjusting to the altitude, which, from an Aussie perspective, is double the height of Mt Kosciusko.

Matthias Walkner (KTM, 2:40), Joan Barreda (Honda, 5:57) and Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna, 6:51) filled positions 4-6 in stage five. Barreda is fourth overall, 2:27 behind Goncalves, followed by Walkner (2:57).

Stage six on January 8 is a loop around Uyuni, and is the longest timed special of the 2016 Dakar Rally. It's a total distance of 723km, including 542km under the clock. Altitude may also create problems as the ride is between 3500 and 4200m with a constant change of pace and terrain.

The first rest day is on January 10.

2016 DAKAR RALLY RESULTS