IN
THE
WIND
P28
SUNDERLAND WINS DAKAR
S
am Sunderland became the
first Briton to win the Dakar
Rally when he crossed the finish
line in sixth place in the 12th and
final stage of the race, which
came to a close in Rio Cuarto,
Argentina, January 14. It was also
the first time that he even finished
the event, having done so with a
32-minute cushion over Red Bull
KTM teammate Matthias Walkner,
another rider who had never fin-
ished the Dakar Rally before.
"It's overwhelming," Sunder-
land said. "When I crossed the
line, the emotion really took over.
It's taken some time to change
[from his motocross back-
ground]. I've learned the hard
way like everybody. I kept fighting
and never gave up and I'm really
grateful for all the people I have
around me that have guided
me. Everybody in the team has
worked so hard, they all deserve
this victory."
Third overall went to Spain's
Gerard Farres (Himoinsa Team),
followed by France's Adrien Van
Beveren (Yamalube Yamaha Offi-
cial Rally Team), and Joan Barre-
da (Monster Energy Honda), who
was never able to overcome a
one-hour penalty earlier in the
race for refueling outside a des-
ignated area. Barreda, winner of
four stages, finished 43 minutes
behind winner Sunderland.
"The end of the rally has
arrived and the sensation that
you've spent the whole year
working towards this race,"
Barreda said. "Here, I did every-
thing that I could, but we were
unable to reach the goal. But
from the inside the feeling is a
good one. I feel calm because
I've given it my best shot and
have done the best that I pos-
sibly could. Over the whole year
I've worked really hard and that
shows. Last year we made some
changes to get to the Dakar even
stronger and these have been
It was an all-KTM podium at the
Dakar Rally. Sam Sunderland was
the overall winner, with Matthias
Walkner taking second and Gerard
Farres third.
For both Sunderland and
Walkner (shown), it was also
their first Dakar finishes.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KTM
IMAGES
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
RED
BULL
CONTENT
POOL
