2019 Dakar Rally Stage 1 Results, Motorcycles
The 2019 Dakar Rally – the shortest in history at only 10 stages – officially got underway Monday in Lima, Peru.
All eyes were on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team as the boys in orange are on a mission to claim 18-straight Dakar Rally wins.
But they began a bit off pace; the top KTM 450 Rally finisher was the 2017 Dakar Rally Champion Sam Sunderland, who finished fifth.
When day one was complete – a sandy route that took the riders 2016 miles with 84 of those timed from Lima to Pisco – Sunderland finished nearly 3 minutes behind the stage-one winner – Joan Barreda Bort aboard the Monster Energy Honda CRF 450 Rally.
Barreda mastered the timed section, which included 80 percent of the riding in the dunes among dry river beds that were hard to navigate. Under scorching temperatures, Barreda finished stage one in 57 minutes, 36 seconds.
He was followed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla, who finished 1:34 minutes, and another Monster Energy Honda pilot, America’s Ricky Brabec, who finished 2:52 behind.
“I’m very happy to start like this,” Joan Barreda says. “Today was a short stage but where everyone went very fast. Without making mistakes I managed to push for the whole of the special.
“In the beginning it’s always a bit difficult to pick up the rhythm, but from kilometer 20 I started to improve and I was able to maintain a good rhythm during the whole stage with very good results.
“Now it’s time to think about the long stages where the way of preparing them changes. Tomorrow we will have to stay focused, since the pace will also be high and there is more chance of getting lost.”
As for America’s other known rider, former Supercross rider Andrew Short (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) finished 13th Monday, nearly seven minutes behind his Barreda.
Tuesday’s stage two route is much longer; it will take riders 344 miles, with 212 of those miles timed, from Pisco to San Juan de Marcona. The stage includes the dunes of Ica, which are tough to navigate.
2019 Dakar Rally Stage 1 Results, Motorcycle
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barreda Joan | 5 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 57’36 |
| 2 | Quintanilla Pablo | 6 | CHI | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +01’34 |
| 3 | Brabec Ricky | 15 | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +02’52 |
| 4 | Van Beveren Adrien | 4 | FRA | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | Yamaha | +02’55 |
| 5 | Sunderland Sam | 14 | GBR | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +02’56 |
| 6 | Price Toby | 3 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +03’08 |
| 7 | Walkner Matthias | 1 | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | +03’12 |
| 8 | Benavides Kevin | 47 | ARG | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +04’00 |
| 9 | Cornejo José Ignacio | 10 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | +05’22 |
| 10 | de Soultrait Xavier | 18 | FRA | Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team | Yamaha | +05’54 |
