Walkner in third place at the opening of the Dakar

Matthias Walkner had a successful start to the Dakar Rally.

The Salzburg man finished the first stage from Jeddah to Bisha on Sunday 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.

Walkner: “The pace was extremely high”

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 today I found a good risk average, correct navigation and speed. The bike feels really good. “

The second stage runs 685 kilometers from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir on Monday. Of these, 457 kilometers count for the special.

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Image of the publication: Imago.