Dakar 2020 Gets Underway
in Saudi Arabia
T
he first-ever Saudi Arabian-
edition of the Dakar Rally got
underway on Sunday, January 5,
after a decade in South America,
with two stages run so far.
Current Dakar champion,
Australia's Toby Price, got out
front early on the factory Red
Bull KTM, taking the Stage One
victory run from Jeddah to Al Wajh
ahead of Monster Energy Honda
HRC's American hopeful Ricky
Brabec and fellow Red Bull KTM
rider, 2018 Dakar winner, Matthias
Walkner.
Price was in impervious form
during Stage One, taking the win
despite his roadbook shearing
in half at the three-quarter stage
marker. He made it to the finish by
following Walkner, whom he had
caught on the road as the latter
lost time due to navigation issues.
"I had a really good day today
up until about 140 kilometers
where my roadbook started to play
up a bit," Price said. "Something
had got in there and jammed the
rollers, and so I was left without
a road book for a while. Luckily, I
caught Matthias after he lost a little
time, and I was able to stay with
him towards the finish. My result
looks good on paper, but it turned
out to be quite a tricky day. I'm
also opening the stage tomorrow,
so hopefully that'll go well, too."
Price was hit with a two-minute
IN
THE
WIND
P32
Sam Sunderland
scored a fifth in Stage
One and a second
on Stage Two to take
the overall lead in
the Dakar Rally. PHOTO:
RALLY ZONE/KTM IMAGES
American Ricky Brabec took second
on Stage One but couldn't repeat that
performance on day two, taking 11th,
one place behind Andrew Short.
PHOTO: HONDA HRC
