Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Toby Price successfully completed a hugely demanding stage three of the 2020 Dakar Rally.
Marking the second half of the event’s Super Marathon stage, day three at the 2020 Dakar Rally proved a tough one for all competitors. The 504-kilometre looped stage featured 427 kilometres of timed special that wound its way through the canyons and up into the mountains in the north of the country.
A GPS issue that affected all competitors and resulted in many of the front runners being unable to find a waypoint resulted in the event organisers taking the results from kilometre-389, rather than the final 427-kilometre mark as originally planned.
Toby Price completed the shortened stage as fifth fastest, just seconds down on teammate Walkner. The stage one winner moves up to sixth in the general rankings and will enjoy a strong start position for Wednesday’s stage four.
Toby Price: “It’s been a tough day, but not too bad. Things were going well in the morning – a few mistakes here and there but nothing too bad. I just tried to stay on two wheels, ride safe and bring it home. Obviously the issue towards the end threw us all a bit, but it’s nice that the organisers acknowledged that quickly and rectified the results. The stage was really beautiful – lots of canyons and camels – I’m feeling good and keen to get going again tomorrow.”
Yamaha rider Rod Faggotter finished the stage an impressive 15th fastest and sits 14th overall. Ben Young is continuing to ride a consistent race and placed 90th in the Stage, which puts him 88th overall. Countryman Trevor Wilson came in one position ahead of Young in 89th and is now 108th overall. Matthew Tisdal is 124th overall after placing 124th in the stage.
Stage four of the 2020 Dakar Rally will present another long day in the saddle for riders. From Neom, a liaison travelling south along the coast of the Red Sea is then followed by a 453-kilometre timed special that will include a mixture of sandy pistes and faster, gravel tracks. After a total of 672 kilometres, competitors will reach the bivouac at Al-‘Ula.
Provisional Results Stage Three – 2020 Dakar Rally
1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:29:31
2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:35:27 +5:56
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:36:53 +7:22
4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:37:44 +8:13
5. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:38:06 +8:35
Provisional Standings (after stage three) – 2020 Dakar Rally
1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 10:39:04
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 10:43:47 +4:43
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 10:45:06 +6:02
4. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda 10:50:06 +11:02
5. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 10:50:23 +11:19
6. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 10:51:02 +11:58