Stage two of the 2019 Dakar Rally challenged competitors with an extremely fast, and rough, timed special of 342 kilometres.
Red Bull KTM’s Toby Price moved up one position in the overall standings to fifth place after posting the fourth fastest time in Stage 2.
Despite a small mistake that caused him to get stuck early on in the stage, Price clocked in three minutes behind stage winner Walkner despite riding in pain due to his injured wrist.
Toby Price: “Day two was long, 342 kilometres on my wrist was really tough. It didn’t help that I got stuck in a dune around the 50-kilometre mark and had to pull the bike out and turn around. That hurt my wrist a little more but I managed to live with it for the rest of the stage, even though it was really bumpy after the cars had been through. All in all, I’m pretty happy with my time and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Factory Yamaha rider Rod Faggotter placed 29th in the long stage and is now 28th in the overall standings, 43 minutes off the pace of the leader.
“We’re just two days into this Dakar and we’ve already entered the most demanding stages,” said Faggotter. “The stage today was fast and long. For me, the goal is to remain consistent and bring my Yamaha back at the bivouac safely. It’s all going according to plan so far and I’m looking forward to the dune stages to come.”
Ben Young finished 102nd and is 103rd in the overall standings while James Ferguson was a few positions back in 115th, he is 116th overall.
Overall Standings after Stage 2
5. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 04:27:47, +04:33
27. Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 05:06:13, +42:59
103. Ben Young (AUS), KTM, 07:25:15, +03:02:01
116. James Ferguson, KTM, 08:11:08, +03:47:54
John Maragozidis is the only Australian in the Quad class and came in 24th position, 03H28M behind the leader. He is 23rd overall.
Stephen Riley and Trevor Hanks are still in the mix. The duo placed 59th in Stage 2 and are 65th overall.
