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(Motorsport-Total.com) – The dream of the second Dakar victory was shattered on the second day. On the road from Bisha to Wadi Al Dawasir in Saudi Arabia, Matthias Walkner lost more than two hours due to a technical defect in his KTM. In the general classification, the Austrian fell to 46th place.
© KTM
In the general classification, Matthias Walkner fell back to position 46 Focus
“I was in the sun a lot today when I was fixing the bike,” Walkner sighs. “After 45 kilometers I got stuck in a dune. Then I turned around and had a problem with the clutch.”
The defect occurred shortly before the checkpoint at kilometer 46. “It took a long time to get the bike back into gear because the clutch was completely in the can. Other drivers stopped and helped me.”
“One of the last drivers, an Indian, was very kind. He helped me with the clutch,” Walkner thanked one of the amateur drivers. It was Ashish Raorane, who disputes his first Dakar and in the original classification he acts without a background team.
“When I continued, I was driving without a clutch, but I enjoyed the scenery and the driving. Of course, I can’t fight for the podium anymore. That makes me a bit sad, of course.”
Walkner finally brought his KTM to the finish. His lost time was 2:26:43 hours. That was 68th place in the daily classification. In the general classification, the Austrian fell back to 46th place. He is 2: 13.37 hours away from the top.
“It’s really bad when the second day goes like this. But I can’t help it. It’s about getting to the finish line healthy and doing my best every day. Maybe I still have good stages. We’ll see.”
