Toby Price:
cost 11 minutes of extra
time. The KTM rider drop-
ping down the rankings
with 15th place. He now
sat in 6th place overall, 10
minutes off the leading
Yamaha of Frenchman,
Adrien Van Beveren.
“The sand was really unpredictable – there were loads
of soft patches that were hard to see and if you were the
first rider to hit them you ended up dropping right back,”
explained Price of dropping back.
“The group I was in missed a waypoint, so we lost a fair
amount of time getting back on track.”
Waypoints were again a problem as the Dakar took to
stage 5. Thirty kilometres of soft sand was all it took for
Price to lose his way and eventually rode into the stage end
with teammate, Antoine Meo. The pair putting on a great
show for the followers of Dakar.
“It was a long morning,” said Price of stage 6.
“It became really muddy and slippery.”
Yet the conditions seemed to suit the rider who is known
more for his sand riding abilities nurtured in the Austra-
lian outback. He finished the more than 425km compet-
itive stage in equal second place with Honda of Kevin
Benavides from Argentina, allowing movement upwards
in the overall standings to 5th less than 10 minutes behind
Benavides, the race leader.
The following day was designated a rest day, a day to
regroup in the Bolivian capital of La Paz. Something all
competitors were looking forward to.
“Everything is feeling great, looking forward to the rest
day and then going full gas back into it!"
Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull
The rest was needed as stage 7 was a marathon 430km
and the weather has started to turn. Firm compact ground
became slush and mud as the rains fell, and continued to
fall. Despite finishing 5th and believing he was continual-
ly improving, Price had lost some time while taking it easy
on a navigation section.
“Stage 7 went well for us,” he commented.
“(We) nailed everything through there really well, but I
think we did lose a little time at the start of the stage.”
Uyuni to Tupiza, stage 8, almost 500km of battling the
environment at racing speeds. Price took to it with ease
and finished third, less than 3 minutes behind teammate,
Meo, who claimed the stage. Price was still in 5th overall
and closing the gap.
Price explained his KTM Factory Racing bike was go-
ing well, he also mentioned the toughness of what was to
come. He was looking forward to it.
In an unbelievable stroke of bad luck stage 9 was
cancelled. The organisers left little choice as the poor
weather meant service and support crews were unable to
meet with the racers at the end of stage 8. Stage 9 effec-
tively became a liaison stage. With the race regrouping in
Salta, Argentina, the results stood as they did after stage 8,
Price still in 4th place.
Stage 10. One that Price would rather forget!
NEWS MAGAZINE
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