Dakar 2021 Stage 2 threw sand and dunes at the competitors today with a 228km liaison and a 457km special taking the rally from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir. It was a bad day for KTM: Matthias Walkner ran into mechanical issues setting him back 46th in the overall rankings; Toby Price struggled with the dunes sections today coming in 32 minutes after stage winner Joan Barreda Bort.
Honda bounced back today with Joan Barreda winning the stage – his 25th stage win – and Ricky Brabec coming in second, putting HRC firmly back in the lead. “There’s still a lot of racing left to do, ten days to go, we just need to stay focused and make it to the finish every day with no more mistakes,” Brabec said today.
Pablo Quintanilla came in third with Ross Branch, the Kalahari Ferrari, right on his heels. American rider Andrew Short had to retire from the rally today after suffering an unrepairable mechanical issue; Skyler Howes is still fighting for KTM, coming in 8th today.
Original by Motul (former Malle Moto) stage win goes to Arunas Gelazninkas today. Gelazninkas is a Lithuanian rider competing in his third Dakar, this time without assistance. In 2019 and 2020, Arunas made the top thirty in the regular motorcycle class; this year, he is hoping to become the first Lithuanian rider to finish the Dakar’s malle moto class. Today’s stage win places him second in the general rankings in the Original by Motul class.
| POS. | N° | DRIVE-TEAM | MARK-MODEL | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 |
(ESP)
JOAN BARREDA BORT
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2021 | 04H 17′ 56” |
| 2 | 1 |
(USA)
RICKY BRABEC
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2021 | 04H 21′ 51” |
| 3 | 2 |
(CHL)
PABLO QUINTANILLA
|
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 04H 23′ 58” |
| 4 | 18 |
(BWA)
ROSS BRANCH
|
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA RALLY TEAM | 04H 29′ 50” |
| 5 | 4 | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2021 | 04H 30′ 02” | |
| 6 | 42 |
(FRA)
ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
|
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA RALLY TEAM | 04H 30′ 38” |
| 7 | 11 |
(SVK)
STEFAN SVITKO
|
SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 04H 32′ 11” |
| 8 | 77 |
(ARG)
LUCIANO BENAVIDES
|
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 04H 33′ 17” |
| 9 | 21 |
(AUS)
丹尼尔·桑德斯
|
KTM FACTORY TEAM | 04H 34′ 27” |
| 10 | 12 |
(FRA)
XAVIER DE SOULTRAIT
|
HT RALLY RAID HUSQVARNA RACING | 04H 35′ 20” |
Featured image: Dakar.com
