IN
THE
WIND
P40
Walkner Leads Abu Dhabi Desert
Challenge After Two Stages
2
021 FIM Cross Country World
Rally Champion, Austria's
Mathias Walkner (Red Bull KTM),
has taken the lead in the 2021
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge fol-
lowing a second place on Stage
Two to Yamaha's Adrien Van
Beveren.
At 292 miles, the second
stage of the rally was the longest
of the five-day event, and fea-
tured a 206-mile timed special
that challenged competitors with
rolling sand dunes and faster,
desert tracks.
Walkner won the Prologue on
the opening day that decided
the running order for Stage One,
which was eventually taken by
Yamaha's Ross Branch. The
Botswanan struggled on Stage
Two, however, finishing 8:02s
off teammate Van Beveren to
sit fourth overall, 5:36s from
Walkner.
"Another day done, and it was
a tough one," Walkner said. "Set-
ting off this morning, I thought
that by the end of the stage most
of the riders behind would have
caught up with those opening
the special. At the refueling, we
could see that wasn't the case,
so Ross [Branch] and I decided
to keep pushing to see if we
could stay out front. We took it
in turns to open with each rider
leading the way for 30km or so.
For the last 100km, I found my-
self alone out front and just gave
it my all. I really was pushing hard
and, thankfully, everything went
well, and I was able to bring it
home for a good, safe finish."
Following two stages, the
running order is Walkner with a
2:22s lead over Van Beveren,
GasGas' Daniel Sanders sits
3:01s from the lead, Branch
(+8:02s) and KTM's Aaron Mare
(+15.42).
CN
Current World Champion
Mathias Walkner has kept his
powder dry so far in the Abu
Dhabi Desert Challenge.
PHOTO: RALLY ZONE
