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DAKAR: BACK TO BACK WINS FOR KTM AND PEUGEOT

Matthias Walkner won the Bike class of Dakar 2018 - Photo: Red Bull

By Bruce Williams

Matthias Walkner won the Bike class of Dakar 2018 - Photo: Red Bull

Matthias Walkner won the Bike class of Dakar 2018 – Photo: Red Bull

KTM’s Matthias Walkner held on to his advantage through the final stage of Dakar 2018 to take the win in the Bike class.

Walkner was five minutes slower than Kevin Benavides (Honda), who won his first stage of the event, on the final day but held enough of margin to claim his first Dakar win. The Austrian finished 16-minutes ahead Benavides in second place in the general standings.

“When you are leading with such a big gap in the biggest event in our sport, it was crazy. Now it is time to celebrate,” said Walkner after the rally.

Australian Toby Price pushed Benavides during the final stage but ended the stage second fastest to finish third in the general standings. Two stage wins on the previous two days brought the 2016 winner back into contention after navigational issues earlier in the rally dropped him off the lead pace.

“It is crazy to be here at the finish line on the podium. I couldn’t expect any more. We will come back bigger and better for the next one.” said Price.

The other two Australian’s in the Dakar field also completed the 15-day marathon. Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha) held on to his 16th position overall, while Dakar rookie Scott Britnell (KTM) cross the finish line in 61st.

Carlos Sainz won the Car class in Dakar 2018 - Photo: Red Bull

Carlos Sainz won the Car class in Dakar 2018 – Photo: Red Bull

In the car class, Peugeot took out the win with two-time WRC champion Carlos Sainz cruising to victory on the final day crossing the line with a 43-minute margin at the line.

“I am extremely happy for me and everyone behind the victory. It was hard when you have such a big lead as it is easy to start making mistakes. This was the hardest Dakar I have ever done, including the ones in Africa.” said Sainz.

The French manufacturer ends its current involvement in Dakar as a works team with three wins from four attempts.

Toyota completed the rest of the Car class podium with Nasser Al-Attiyah second and Giniel de Villiers third.

In the other classes, Russian Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz-Master) took out the win in the Trucks title for the second time in a row. Chilean Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) won the Quad class. While Brazilian Reinaldo Varela (Can-Am) won the SxS class.

Dakar 2018 Result – Bike Class (Top 10)

Pos. Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Matthias Walkner KTM 43h06m01s
2 Kevin Benavides Honda 16m53s
3 Toby Price KTM 23m01s
4 Antoine Meo KTM 47m28s
5 Gerard Farres KTM 1h01m04s
6 Johnny Aubert Gas Gas 1h53m53s
7 Oriol Mena Hero 2h22m52s
8 Pablo Quintanilla Husqvarna 2h24m05s
9 Daniel Oliveras KTM 2h34m20s
10 Jose Ignacio Cornejo Honda 2h42m36s

Dakar 2018 Result – Car Class (Top 10)

Pos. Driver / Co-driver Car Time/Gap
1 Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Peugeot 49h16m18s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel Toyota +43m40s
3 Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz Toyota +1h16m41s
4 Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret Peugeot +1h25m29s
5 Jakub Przygonski/Tom Colsoul Mini +2h45m24s
6 Khalid Al Qassimi/Xavier Panseri Peugeot +4h20m58s
7 Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek Ford +7h20m49s
8 Peter van Merksteijn/Maciej Marton Toyota +7h41m28ss
9 Sebastian Halpern/Edu Pulenta Toyota +9h08m10s
10 Lucio Alvarez/Robert Howie Toyota +9h18m46ss

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