Epic Stage 2 for bikers at Dakar
The cars played cat and mouse and many a winner was decided within a breath from the finish line.
Will the 2023 Dakar race prove to be the adventure of adventures? Time will tell, but the scene has been set.
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Toyota Hilux overcame Dutchmen Erik van Loon and Sébastien Delaunay’s similar privateer car for the closest of car victories.
Teams within the Toyota Gazoo set-up and Century Racing also did well.
South African rookie R2 amateur biker Michael Docherty took a sensational early motorcycle lead. Docherty ultimately took his second R2 win on the trot as US KTM lad Mason Klein benefited late leader Daniel Sanders’ GasGas slowing near the end in search of a better Tuesday starting position. Botswana rider Ross Branch meanwhile ended fourth on the day on his Hero.
Cars: It was a game of cat and mouse
WRC legend Carlos Sainz Sr and Lucas Cruz led them away in their Audi RS Q e-Tron quattro from nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin’s Factory BRX Hunter. Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk van Zitzewitz left the gates third in their Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+.
Defending champions Al-Attiyah and Baumel set off sixth ahead of SA crew Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer in their Century CR6-T, with Toyota Gazoo compatriots Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings 10th, and Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy 18th based on their final results yesterday.
De Villiers hit the ground running, assisted by the leaders struggling to open the narrow, rough, and rocky 430km stage with unusually little sand and dunes. He initially fought it out with French crew Lionel Baud and Remy Boulanger, as well as Van Loon and Delaunay who recovered from their Prologue rollover. Both Baud and Van Loon benefited the cleaned out road as they ran well down from their respective 74th and 41st starting positions in their similar privateer Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+s.
The Toyotas of Al-Attiyah and Al Rajhi and Michael Orr, and Polish crew Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk in a Ford Raptor, also benefiting starting 20th, joined the top three in their widespread battle.
Sunday’s frontrunners struggled early on, with Al-Attiyah initially running in seventh, Sainz ninth, Audi teammate Mattias Ekstrom 13th, Lategan 18th, Seb Loeb’s BRX Hunter 23rd and Stéphane Peterhansel’s Audi in 24th. Al-Attiyah and Sainz, however, picked up the pace as the day progressed.
The second highest altitude of all the stages also allegedly saw the rear-wheel-drive turbo cars struggling against the 4×4 turbo cars as a result of slightly different turbo regulations between the two classes.
The fat lady had, however, not yet sung, with all eyes on Van Loon chasing his first Dakar day win leading through the final control and Baud still in the thick of it. Had Van Loon done enough to stave off the charging Al-Attiyah? No – the Dutch crew missed out by a handful of seconds in the end.
Al-Attiyah’s factory car pipped Van Loon’s similar privateer Toyota to a classic Hilux 1-2. Sunday winner Carlos Sainz ended third on Monday to maintain the overall lead.
South African Baragwanath clawed back to a provisional 10th, Henk Lategan was provisionally 16th. Expect penalties to change the day’s order.
Overall, Sainz is ahead of Al-Attiyah by two minutes, with Serradori third, 24 minutes off the pace and Vitse and De Villiers close behind. Baragwanath lies seventh from Prokop. Peterhansel and Lategan. That’s six South African cars and three teams in the top 10, albeit subject to penalties being applied.
Docherty and Branch are the stars on two wheels
Once all of Sunday’s penalties were applied, it was Californian Ricky Brabec’s Honda that led the bikes away ahead of KTM duo Kevin Benavides and Toby Price. Botswana’s Branch was looking for a better day on his Hero from 12th as South African FK Husqvarna duo Docherty led the R2 class away, and Charan Moore was the first Malle Moto Original machine to set off. He picked up the no-service bike class win yesterday after rival Joan Garcia also incurred a penalty.
Damp conditions, however, caused a few surprises as rookie leader Docherty emerged as a shock leader early on. Clear tracks seemed to help the bikes further back in maintaining a higher pace.
Sanders moved up to second and slowly closed on Docherty, passing the South African at mid-distance. KTM man Toby Price loomed large in third ahead of Branch on his Hero as yesterday’s winner Ricky Brabec struggled with his Honda.
It was Klein who emerged ahead at the finish to take the day in dramatic style, despite a two-minute penalty. Sanders slowed by over five minutes and finished ninth, which left Bühler second, Howes third and Branch in fourth, while Price rounded out the top five.
Docherty ultimately rode home 13th to take his second R2 stage win on the trot.
Of the other South African bikers, R2 Malle Moto Original class rider Charan Moore had a solid day to 37th and second in the no-service category on his FK Husqvarna. South African Malle Moto rider Stuart Gregory was still running in 90th, iron lady Kirsten Landman sat 105th, and Stevan Wilken was sitting 123rd overall at the time of publishing.
Tuesday will see an even longer 446km run through several canyons from Al’Ula to Ha’Il, but readers will receive the news as it develops.
Source: MotorsportMedia
