Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price has put in another strong performance at the 2021 Dakar, finishing as seventh fastest on today’s sixth stage to take the provisional overall lead going into Saturday’s rest day. Rally rookie Daniel Sanders finished the day as top KTM, claiming his second top-three result of the event in third, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland also placing well in fifth and ninth respectively.
Following Thursday’s exhausting stage five, riders were hoping for an easier time on the final special before the rest day. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Despite being shortened to 347km from the original length of 448km, stage six truly tested all competitors’ navigation skills and stamina by delivering a tough day made up of sandy, twisting tracks, before opening out into a mixture of both hard dirt trails and soft dunes.
Toby Price backed up his strong third-place finish on stage five with a storming ride from the front on day six. Setting off as the third rider to enter the special, the two-time Dakar champion had caught the two riders ahead of him by kilometer 100. Riding in a group of three from there to the finish, Price was able to find a solid rhythm and navigate through the dunes without major issues. With his seventh-place result, Toby lost the very minimum of time to his rivals, completing the special less than four minutes down and in doing so takes the lead of the 2021 event.
Toby Price: “Today they cut about 100km out of the stage and that definitely helped us because it’s still been a really tough day out there. It took a while, but I managed to catch the two guys ahead of me and luckily we were able to keep up a really good pace right at the front. I did have one little get-off that twisted the road book tower a little bit but apart from that there were no problems. It feels great to have taken the overall lead, but after such an up and down week the most important thing is we’re fit and in good shape for the second half of the rally. The plan now is to enjoy the rest day and then hopefully more of the same next week.”
Provisional Results Stage Six – 2021 Dakar Rally
1. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 3:45:27
2. Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 3:45:40 +0:13
3. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:46:20 +0:53
4. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:47:51 +2:24
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:48:41 +3:14Provisional Standings (after stage six) – 2021 Dakar Rally
1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 24:08:43
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 24:10:59 +2:16
3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 24:11:40 2:57
4. Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 24:12:24 3:41
5. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Husqvarna, 24:12:24 +3:41
STORY: “Seven days done now, but still a fair few to go.” (January 2021)
STORY: Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Look Ahead To Dakar Week Two (January 2021)
STORY: Laia Sanz Safely Through Brutal Dakar-Stage Five (January 2021)
photo (c) Rally Zone