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Matthias Walkner wanted to give himself a day or two to really get into career mode at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. After finishing Saturday 18th in the prologue, the KTM driver from Salzburg was now “ready to race” for the first stage yesterday. Walkner finished third behind his teammate Toby Price (Aus) and Honda man Kevin Benavides (Arg).
“The pace was extremely high, the navigation difficult, but I found a good rhythm. The bike feels really good,” said Walkner happy about the good start. After the 277 timed kilometers, the 34-year-old from Kuchl was just 32 seconds behind Price, who has taken the lead in the overall standings. Walkner is also in third place here.
Last year’s winner Ricky Brabec (Honda) was “punished” yesterday for winning the prologue. The American had to open the first stage and quickly had trouble navigating. In the end he lost about 18 minutes in the best time. “The road book did not always make sense,” said an annoyed Brabec, who today will start a chase following in the footsteps of the drivers who entered the race before him. The second stage runs 685 kilometers from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir. Of these, 457 kilometers count for the special.
In the car category, defending champion Carlos Sainz (Spa, Mini) leads after the first stage.
