Price takes lead in Dakar Rally

Toby Price cranked up his bid for the 2016 Dakar Rally with a 20-second victory in stage two overnight, ahead of Portugal's Ruben Faria (Husqvarna) and Slovakian Stefan Svitko (KTM).

The second stage was almost 800km in total, and took riders from Villa Carlos Paz to Termas de Río Hondo, mostly through undulating terrain at speed. It was the first major outing for all the riders following the cancellation of stage one because of inclement weather.

“It was a long day in the saddle but for sure it's started well for us," said Price, seeking to become the first Aussie winner of the famed event. "Today was really easy navigation and we had a few tracks we could see, plus the route was pretty well marked.

“You've got to have a perfect race go your way for the two weeks. Realistically it's day one, so we've got a long way to go. We've just got to make sure we keep cool, calm and collected.

"It's good to get one stage win out of the way, but we're looking forward to being smooth and consistent the rest of the week and see how we go.”

You can catch Price's stage two win on SBS at 5:00pm today in a 30-minute highlights package.

Frenchman Alain Duclos (Sherco) and Price's teammate Matthias Walkner were fourth and fifth in stage two, and in the overall standings Price holds a two-second lead over Faria, with Svitko in third.

2016 DAKAR RALLY RESULTS

Stage three will take riders from Termas de Río Hondo to San Salvadore de Jujuy. Out of a total distance of 663km, they will ride under the clock for 314km. The timed special will include tight mountain tracks that require maximum concentration and organisers warn that if there is more rain the ground will be heavy.