Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price fell victim to GPS issues during Stage 2 of the Desafio Inca Rally, Peru, crushing any hope of a podium finish by the 2016 Dakar champion.
Price was fastest on Stage 1 of the three-day rally and led the field into the timed section on State 2.
Despite laying a trail for the chasing riders to follow, Price enjoyed a strong first lap navigating well and maintaining a solid pace over the undulating terrain. As was the case on day one, the second lap on Saturday saw a group of riders enter the stage and remain together for the entire 170 kilometres. Unfortunately, Toby suffered an issue with his GPS and was forced to turn back to validate a missed waypoint. With further issues hampering his progress, the Australian ultimately finished 16th.
“The first loop today went really well, I navigated through the first 160 kilometres without an issue and was able to keep to a good strong pace. Then, just like yesterday, we started the second loop in a big group. I’m not sure why, but even though we were all riding together, my GPS didn’t record one particular waypoint,” explained Price.
“It’s really strange because it seems I was the only one who missed it and I had to turn around and retrace my steps to try and validate it. After that, and even though I was in the tracks of the leading group, the GPS failed to pick up another waypoint. It then jumped about 15 kilometres and I think it’s missed others, too. It’s frustrating because it makes my results look bad through no fault of my own. On the plus side, I still feel strong in myself and we’re getting some good data riding the bike here in the dunes.”
The New South Wales local bounced back to post the second-fastest time in the third and final stage but the damage had been done the day prior and Price, despite his best effort, had to settle for ninth overall.
“Day three went well, I was glad to get a good finish on the final day. Thankfully we were able to resolve the problem we had from yesterday and had a clean run through today,” said Price. “The overall result for the rally isn’t quite what we wanted but the goal when we came here was always to get time on the bike in the dunes and concentrate on learning the navigation through the area. From here we’ll concentrate on Morocco and hopefully get a good result at the final round of the world championship.”
Provisional Final Standings – 2018 Desafio Inca Rally after 3 of 3 stages
1. Paulo Goncalves (PRT), Honda, 10:08:13
2. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 10:11:4 +2:51
3. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 10:16:37 +10:02
4. Ignacio Cornejo (CHI), Honda, 10:18:15 +10:02
5. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 10:19:17 +11:04
9. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 10:37:22 +29:09
