The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team have completed a very successful stage eight of the 2018 Dakar Rally. Antoine Meo claimed his second win in three stages, Toby price finished a very strong third.
Stage eight has proven to be one of the toughest of the 2018 event. As the second leg of the rally’s first marathon stage, riders were unable to receive any team assistance overnight and rode today’s 498km timed special with day-old tyres. The wet and slippery conditions called for supreme technical skills on the bike, good navigation and yet more mental strength in order to complete another challenging stage.
Toby Price again showed why he is a former Dakar champion. The Australian used his experience and skill to maintain a consistent pace, despite the treacherous conditions, and placed a very creditable third at the line.
Toby Price: “It’s been a really long marathon stage – yesterday was 430km and today was 490km – the two longest of the event. I’m feeling a little bit sore after racing for nearly 1,000km but apparently, we have another rest day tomorrow due to the stage being cancelled. I’m not complaining, I could certainly use the time to recharge, but everyone gets the same break and will be fired up and ready to go again on Tuesday. All-in-all, I’m feeling good and the bike is awesome. I know the stages in Argentina are going to be tough and there are still a lot of kilometres to cover, but I’m in a good position and not had any issues. The idea is to just stay focused and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren maintains the overall lead by a slim 22 seconds. “It is great that we keep the lead at the end of this extremely difficult marathon stage,” said Van Beveren.
“The rain, the mud and the high altitude made things really hard for us these last two days. It was really exhausting physically but I managed to get two good stage results. Yesterday I was second and then today I pushed hard and managed to stay close to the leading group. For big parts of the special stages yesterday and today I found myself opening the tracks. I am feeling great so far on my bike and I also have a great feeling with my navigation. I can be fast while also avoiding navigational mistakes and that is crucial for the coming stages as well. I feel that I’ve put the pieces of the puzzle together and now I know what I need to do during the coming stages.”
Setting off ninth this morning at 6.39 AM, Antoine Meo was able to chase down the pack in front of him right from the start. Meo led on time through the first six waypoints with a small mistake then causing him to drop down to second. Pushing hard for the final 100km, the Frenchman took the win at the finish by over one-minute from runner-up Ricky Brabec.
Antoine Meo: “I am really happy with my performance today. Right from the beginning my plan was to push and try to regain some time on the leaders. I felt really good today, despite the conditions and the length of the special, I didn’t make any mistakes. With tomorrow’s stage cancelled it puts me in the unfortunate position of having to open Tuesday’s stage in the dunes of Argentina. It is always a slight disadvantage to open stages like that, but I’ll do my best and see where I can finish.”
KTM’s Laia Sanz again excelled in the wet, muddy conditions of the special stage to post the ninth fastest time. The result jumps the multiple world champion up to 13th in the provisional overall standings.
Laia Sanz: “Yesterday was a really tough, physical day. Conditions were really bad, but I was doing ok until I got stuck in the mud. Today went a lot better, I had a nice rhythm and rode a very good stage. I managed to catch some of the riders in front and so I knew I was doing well. I just pushed as hard as I could safely right to the finish. To get a top-10 result at the end of a marathon stage like that feels really nice and has given me some good confidence going into Argentina.”
Rod Faggotter finished the brutal stage in 27th and is 22nd overall. Scott Britnell is in 74th place.
“This marathon stage was a test for all of us. I’m tired but happy I brought my bike home,” said Faggotter. “Yesterday I lost time trying to help Franco get his bike out of the mud. Both these last two days have been really long and tiring. I’m glad to be here in Tupiza and my bike is running great so far. I’ve had a couple of small crashes but nothing major. My body is tired tonight but we have time to relax and recover some energy. Things are going pretty well for me this year. Unfortunately, we lost Franco yesterday and Xavier today. My thoughts are with Xavier now, as he tries to recover from his injuries.”
Provisional Results Stage Eight – 2018 Dakar Rally
1. Antoine Meo (FRA), KTM, 5:24:01
2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 5:25:09 +1:08
3. Toby Price (AUT), KTM, 5:26:46 +2:45
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 5:29:53 +5:52
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK), KTM, 5:30:47 +6:46
Provisional Standings after Stage Eight – 2018 Dakar Rally
1. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 27:22:03
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 27:22:25 +0:22
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), 27:28:37 +6:34
4. Toby Price (AUT), KTM, 27:29:38 +7:35
5. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 27:30:04 +8:01