Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing) took a new win, this time edging out Ricky Brabec and his Honda. Benavides expanded his lead in the W2RC standings to 8′37″ over Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda) and 9′55″ over Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports).
Toby Price, who stood on the overall podium yesterday, broke his shock absorber. Matthias Walkner sacrificed his own ambitions and gave him the part he needed on the track. The Aussie leader of the championship lost over an hour and went "down under" in the overall, while his Austrian teammate had to quit the race. A mechanical prevented Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM Racing) from finishing the Rally2 stage, leaving his compatriot and stablemate Bradley Cox to claim the stage and seize the overall lead.
The three leading riders in the provisional W2RC standings, Toby Price (62 points), Luciano Benavides (55 points) and Adrien Van Beveren (53 points), were neck and neck at the front of the DR40 after stage 1. But that was then, and this is now. Toby Price broke his shock absorber bang in the middle of the special and had to wait for his teammate Matthias Walkner, who gave up his own part to the world championship leader without a second thought.
The Australian took a one-hour hit, but he is still in the race, unlike his saviour, in accordance with the regulations. As for his main rivals for the championship, Luciano Benavides outgunned VBA today. The Argentinian was the fastest behind Tosha Schareina, the Honda rider not registered for the W2RC who won the stage once again. The Frenchman had to settle for sixth in the special. Benavides expanded his lead in the W2RC standings to 8′37″ over VBA and 9′55″ over Ross Branch. Price is still in the top 10 at 1 h 08′30″.
In Rally2, Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM Racing) hit a mechanical snag in the special and failed to make it to the finish. His troubles left the door wide open for his teammate and fellow South African Bradley Cox to win the Rally2 stage and climb to the top of the overall. Romain Dumontier (HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing) finished within a minute of the victor, whereas Duust Rally's Konrad Dąbrowski and Jean-Loup Lepan floundered at over 11 minutes down and Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing) conceded over 17 minutes. "Dudu" slashed his deficit in the overall to Lucci (whom he trails by 3 points in the world championship) by 16 minutes, which also happens to be the time he lost as a result of penalties for changing his engine after the prologue (15 minutes) and speeding in yesterday's special (1 minute). The two Rally2 title contenders are almost back to square one, with the Italian leader of the championship holding on to a razor-thin 4-minute margin.
Manuel Andújar once again crushed the opposition in the fight for the quad W2RC. The Albiceleste now leads the DR40 by 27′33″ over Juraj Varga, who competes under his aegis, and 1 h 25′42″ over Rodolfo Guillioli.
Stage 3, a loop around Belén, will head north to the Pie de Medano area, which the Dakar visited more than once. The first part will take place to the east of Ruta 40, while the second part will intersect with it and jump to the west of this strip of asphalt. Sand will be the name of the game here. Sandy tracks, dunes and navigation will be on the menu. Halfway through the first part of the special, the highest dunes since the race got under way will peak at 2,600 metres above sea level, the ceiling of this edition. The second part of the special, coming after the refuelling stop at km 164, will be more of the same, with a combo of sandy tracks and dunes. A gruelling stage in true Dakar style.
ASO