VOLUME 58 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 12, 2021 P51
(Bottom left) Toby Price's rally, like Brabec's, has
been a topsy-turvy one. The Australian took Stage
One and opened the track for Stage Two, losing a
mammoth 32 minutes to stage winner, Joan Barreda.
Price took another win on Stage Three but again
lost masses of time leading the way on Stage Four,
slipping to eighth. At the time of publication, Price
is back up to second (even running the last half of
the Marathon Stage with his rear tire held together
by zip-ties!) and still very much in the hunt for the
win. (Bottom middle) Husqvarna privateer Xavier De
Soutrait was in fine form during Dakar 2021 and even
led the Rally after Stage Four. De Soultrait went into
the second half of the Marathon Stage lying fourth
overall, 02m34s from Cornejo, but that was as good
as it got for the Frenchman. A crash on Stage Eight
left him with a concussion, automatically rendering
him unfit to race and putting an end to his title
chance. (Bottom right) Yamaha's Ross Branch was
having an exceptional 2021 Dakar. The Botswanan
took four top-four stage finishes, including second
on Stage Six, and was looking to make a push for the
podium in the last third of the rally. It all went wrong
for him, however, on Stage Seven, when his chain
came off at the 32-km mark, sending him flying over
the handlebars and losing over 40 minutes in the
process. Branch is in 13th at time of publication.
