[ad_1]
Third place at the start of the Dakar Rally.
Jeddah Matthias Walkner had a successful start to the Dakar Rally. The Salzburg driver finished the first stage from Jeddah to Bisha over 623 kilometers, 277 of them as a special stage, in third place. Toby Price, Walkner’s Australian KTM teammate, won the stage. Reigning Dakar champion and winner of Saturday’s prologue Ricky Brabec lost a good 18 minutes to the top and had to settle for 28th place.
Accelerated step
Walkner was satisfied. “It was a good first day for me,” Kuchler said. “The pace was extremely high again and the navigation with many changes of direction was very difficult. But I think I have found a good mediocrity of risk, adequate navigation and speed. The bike feels really good. “
In the car category, two-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah took the lead in a Toyota. The 50-year-old Qatari, who triumphed in the South American editions in 2011 and 2019, won at the same time as South African Brian Baragwanath. Brand colleague Yazeed Al Rajhi (Saudi Arabia) is in third place, eight seconds behind.
Today’s second stage covers 685 kilometers from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir. Of these, 457 kilometers count for the special.
