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2016 Dakar Rally – Stage 13: Toby Price Triumphs

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They call it the hardest motorcycle race in the world, and for good reason. The 13-day trial that is the Dakar Rally sees competitors racing against each other, racing against the clock, racing against the terrain, the rain, the heat, and even racing against themselves, as they test the limits of their bodies.

It shouldn’t surprise us then to see the number of top-level competitors whose 2016 Dakar Rally ended before the finish line in Rosario, and it also shouldn’t surprise us that even those who finished the race considered today a victory, no matter where they landed on the results sheet.

That being said, no one is celebrating harder than KTM’s Toby Price, who clinched his first Dakar Rally win today, on only his second Dakar participation.

“Winning in my second participation is awesome, but being the first Australian to win the Dakar is just insane. I would’ve never imagined this two years ago. Finishing the rally is already a triumph. Winning it is amazing! I tackled the race in true Aussie style,” said Price.

“I attacked when I had to, when the time was right, and I kept an eye on my bike during the all-important marathon stages. I also navigated quite well. I hope this is just the start, to win again. It won’t be easy, so I’ve got to savour this victory.”

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2016 Dakar Rally – Stage 3: Hat Trick?

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Stage 3 of the 2016 Dakar Rally saw another modified route, as the competitors worked around the weather in Argentina. This means that the timed special section was reduced to roughly 200km.

With the shorter route, the navigational challenges were virtually non-existent for the motorcycle competitors, though plenty of radar speed traps were on the course, which caught a few riders out.

The day was most fruitful for Honda, as the fastest three riders through the timed section were all HRC riders, with Joan Barreda leading the pack.

Unfortunately for Barreda though, the Spanish rider got another one-minute penalty, which officially knocked him back to fifth for the day, robbing Honda of its scorecard domination.

“Today was a great day after yesterday, when I had to open the track, but today we started from behind which gave us a good position to attack from,” said Barreda.

“We were very focused throughout the stage, which had very little navigation but plenty of radars that you had to be careful of. I kept a great pace throughout the 200 km and I’ve got the leadership back.”

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2016 Dakar Rally – Stage 2: Beginning, In Earnest

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Racing almost 800km from Villa Carlos Paz to Termas de Río Hondo, Monday marked the first earnest day of racing in the 2016 Dakar Rally, after the timed section of Stage 1 had to be canceled because of the incredibly weather at play in Argentina.

This doesn’t mean Monday was without weather though, as the special section was trimmed from 450km to 354km, because track conditions had deteriorated after Sunday’s thunderstorms.

That slight respite proved to be a boon for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price, as the Australian took the first Stage win of The Dakar. Price finished just 20 seconds ahead of Husqvarna’s Ruben Faria, lining up a duel that is likely to be a major part of this year’s edition of The Dakar.

While KTM might be without Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, both riders now having retired from two-wheel racing, KTM has a strong showing so far in 2016, with Stefan Svitko of Slovakia rounding out the podium, third in Stage 2, though he carries a one-minute penalty from the day.

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2016 Dakar Rally – Stage 1: Canceled

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The 2016 Dakar Rally is off to a poor start, as the first stage of the event had to be canceled today, on account of the weather. While yesterday’s prologue in Rosario was under 104°F sun, lightning storms prevailed in South America today, along with heavy rain.

The intensity of the rainfall saw the river crossings swell in size, while the heavy wind and rain meant that the safety helicopters couldn’t safely operate. As such, the ASO had no choice but to scrub today’s stage, citing safety concerns for the competitors.

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2015 Dakar Rally – Stage 13: Coma Triumphs

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With only 174 km planned for today’s special, Stage 13 was always known to be a short affair. However, with heavy rain hitting the course, the timed section was cut short, stopping at the second checkpoint (roughly 100km in), making today’s timed ride less than an hour long.

Team Orange came out in force for the last stage, with Jakes, Svitko, and Price taking the top three slots away from the Honda riders.

Paulo Goncalves tried his best to shorten the distance, and was the first HRC rider across the line, only a minute behind the leaders, but Coma’s lead was too much to overcome.

However, it is worth noting that the 2015 Dakar Rally would have been much closer had the Portuguese rider not encountered 17 minutes of penalties the past two weeks. He finished second overall.

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2015 Dakar Rally – Stage 12: And Then There Was One

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The penultimate round of the 2015 Dakar Rally, Stage 12 is really the last chance for the riders to shuffle around in the standings, as Saturday’s closing stage has only a 174 km time special stage, and thus won’t give many opportunity.

As such, Stage 12 saw Marc Coma managing his pace, so as not to stress his KTM 450 Rally race bike, but yet keep HRC’s Paulo Goncalves at bay.

This left KTM-support rider Toby Price to win the stage. The Australian is used to desert racing, is racing his second rally-raid, and this is his first ride as a KTM-supported rider. Price has certainly been impressing the Austrians, as he sits a comfortable third in the overall rankings after today.

“At this stage everything is just feeling good. We’re enjoying it, so it’s been a good experience. There have been a lot of highs and lows and good learning curves as well as a few mistakes, but we’re trying to fix them as best as we can and get to the finishing line,” said Price.

“Hopefully, that will happen tomorrow. I always knew it was going to be difficult, but you don’t know until you actually come here and have a go. Then you find out how hard it really is.”

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