IN
THE
WIND
P48
WALKNER TAKES CAREER-FIRST VICTORY
AT SARDEGNA RALLY
A
fter five grueling stages
of complicated navigation
through the rugged Mediterra-
nean island, KTM Factory rider
Matthias Walkner stood atop the
podium at the Sardegna Rally,
round four of the FIM Cross
Country Rallies World Cham-
pionship. The victory marked a
first-ever World Championship
rally win for the young Austrian.
Fellow KTM rider Armand Mon-
leon finished a close second
ahead of Yamaha factory rider
Helder Rodrigues. HRC's Paolo
Goncalves and defending Rally
World Champion Marc Coma
rounded out the top-five after
both riders struggled with dif-
ficulties.
From the start of the rally,
Walkner put his motocross back-
ground to good use. The former
MX3 World Champion got off
on the right foot by winning the
motocross-style prologue, but
the race wasn't all smooth sail-
ing.
"I was very motivated after
winning the Super Special on
the first day, but I crashed twice
the next day," Walkner con-
fessed. "From a riding perspec-
tive, the Sardegna Rally can't be
compared with desert riding. It
has more the characteristic of
an Enduro race."
With complicated navigation
and tricky terrain—made further
challenging by tempestuous
weather—the Sardegna rally took
its toll on a number of riders
including Factory Honda heavy-
weight Paulo Goncalves. Like
Walkner, he got out to a good
start early in the race, but soon
felt the brunt of a small mistake.
Goncalves led the way on day
Austrian rider Mat-
thias Walkner cel-
ebrated his first-ever
World Champion-
ship Rally win at the
Sardegna Rally.
