A gruelling opening stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally sees champion Toby Price pick up where he left off last year with the win ahead of Ricky Brabec.
Eschewing the traditional “easy” opening day, the 2020 Dakar Rally got off to a healthy start on stage one with 752-kilometres from Jeddah along the Red Sea coast to Al Wajh with 319 kilometres of tied special dishing up a true taste of the Saudi Arabian terrain.
Starting just as he left off and carrying the number one plate, Toby Price set the benchmark on day one with the fastest stage time of 3h:19m:33s ahead of Ricky Brabec and Matthais Walkner. The result came despite a problem with Price’s navigation equipment which caused his road book to stop operating.
Despite that meaning he was “riding blind”, the reigning Dakar champ was able to follow the dust set by his KTM team-mate Matthias Walkner to the finish.
“My road book walked out on me after 15-odd kilometres.” Explains Price. “I was quite lucky in one way because I managed to follow on some dust and just keep up. Once the road book is gone, you're pretty much riding blind.
“At the moment it looks good on paper, but I think we have a bit of a penalty coming. It's not the greatest start, but it’s still a long rally to go. We're in good shape, we feel good on the bike and we're happy.”
Dakar 2020 is the first time the event has dished out the new style road books for competitors which are pre-marked up. The level playing field this produces by many accounts has caused a cautious start as rider get used to the new system and also bed themselves into the rally.
Monster Energy Honda rider Ricky Brabec was in equally determined mood on the opening stage and came home second with a time 2m:05s behind Price. “My starting position wasn’t the best.” Said Brabec. “I had all the KTM, Yamaha and Husky boys behind me. It was hard for me to judge how fast they were going. I tried to do my best and not make any big mistakes. I was very fortunate to have a solid day. I hope to keep the speed all the way to the end. It’s only the first day – we have eleven left. I’m hoping the pieces come together and we can have a good finish.”
2018 champion Matthias Walkner also made a good start completing the opening stage in third place. Walkner in fact dropped to fifth midway through the timed special but regrouped to clock in 2m:40s behind teammate Price.
“It took me a while to get used to things today,” said Walkner at the finish, “maybe because so many things are different here in terms of the terrain and navigation. For the first 80 kilometres I took things quite steady, it was quite stony and easy to make a mistake.
“After that I found my rhythm, especially in the dunes, and was able to make up some time. I was quite surprised with third position although it doesn’t give me the best start for tomorrow, but I’m happy and we’ve got a long way to go.”
Stage two of the 2020 Dakar Rally will also be the first super marathon stage, where only 10 minutes of mechanical repair time is permitted for each bike competitor at the end of the day. Riders face a 393 kilometre stage from Al Wajh to Neom, comprising a 367km special stage together with a 26km liaison.
Rider Standings after stage 1:
- PRICE Toby KTM Factory Racing Team 03:19'33
- BRABEC Ricky Monster Energy Honda Team + 02'05
- WALKNER Matthias KTM Factory Racing Team + 02'40
- BENAVIDES Kevin Monster Energy Honda Team + 04'31
- SUNDERLAND Sam KTM Factory Racing Team +05'15
- QUINTANILLA Pablo Husqvarna Factory Rally Team +05'36
- BARREDA Joan Monster Energy Honda Team +07'51
- BENAVIDES Luciano KTM Factory Racing Team +08'56
- SHORT Andrew Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +09'03
10. VAN BEVEREN Adrien Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team +09'52
11. CORNEJO José Ignacio Monster Energy Honda Team +10'15
12. MARÉ Aaron Monster Energy Honda Team +36'45