The Dakar Rally 2016 got underway with an easy start Sunday for stage 1. Easy is never a word used to describe what is coined as “the world’s toughest race,” but a cancellation of the opening Dakar stage due to storms had riders take a leisure trip from the start point of Rosario to Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina.
Monday’s action was much different; Dakar Rally 2016 Stage 2 did have a trimmed timed special – from 280 to 220 miles – due to deteriorated conditions, but a mere lack of 60 miles didn’t change the challenge much. Riders had to deal with undulating terrain at speed throughout the stage that took riders nearly 500 miles overall to Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina.
And when it all came to end Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price struck first. The Australian finished Dakar Rally 2016 Stage 2 by 20 seconds ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Ruben Faria of Portugal. Earning the final podium position at Stage 2 was Price’s teammate Stefan Svitko of Slovakia; these three riders now hold the top-three positions in the overall standings (Saturday’s Prologue and Stage 2).
Following the stage win, Price said: “It was a long day in the saddle but for sure it’s started well for us. Today was really easy navigation and we had a few tracks we could see, plus the route was pretty well marked.”
But Price knows there is still a long way to go: “You’ve got to have a perfect race go your way for the two weeks. Realistically it’s day one, so we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve just got to make sure we keep cool, calm and collected. It’s good to get one stage win out of the way, but we’re looking forward to being smooth and consistent the rest of the week and see how we go.”
Husqvarna’s Ruben Faria
Faria, who shared the fastest time during Saturday’s Dakar Rally prologue with Team HRC Honda’s Joan Barreda (finished seventh in stage 2), had to push hard for his finish. He is now only two seconds behind Price in the overall standings: “Today I started second behind (Joan) Barreda. I pushed a little bit and I caught him. After that I rode at a good speed. I’ve got a good feeling with the bike and the bike was really good. We’re at the beginning of the race, but I’m feeling good.”
Fourth went to Sherco’s Alain Duclos, who was followed by Price’s Red Bull KTM factory teammate Matthias Walkner of Austria; all together the top-five riders were seperated by only two minutes.
Price, who was third in 2015 in his debut Dakar and Walkner, who is coming off an excellent season, have both been mentioned as possible favorites for this edition.
As for America’s Ricky Barbec on the Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally, he finished 21st overall in his first-ever Dakar Rally stage.
Brabec said “Today was the first real day, you could say, as we raced through the dirt. It was a good, really fast day. I got hung up for maybe four or five minutes and then Paulo got by me and he got stuck in the mud also. I helped Paulo (Ceci) get out of the mud. Other than that there were no issues. It was a really hot day.”
Dakar Rally 2016 Stage 3 Terrain
Stage 3 on Tuesday takes riders from Termas de Río Hondo to San Salvadore de Jujuy. Out of a total distance of 412 miles, they will ride under the clock for 195 miles. The timed special will include tight mountain tracks that require maximum concentration and organizers warn that if there is more rain the ground will be heavy.
Welcome to the Motos and Friends Podcast. This adventure-filled episode is brought to you by the 33rd annual Biketoberfest® rally that takes place in sunny Florida, October 16th through the 19th.
Yes…in this adventure-focused episode, our first segment has Don Williams telling us all about the 2025 Honda XL750 Transalp. Honda have made some changes to the bike for this year and it’s now a little more off-road focused. For under ten thousand dollars the Transalp is a lot of bike for the money, and Don tells us exactly what’s changed and how it affects the kind of terrain you’ll want to tackle on this machine.
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Now if there’s one adventure you really won’t want to miss it’s the upcoming Biketoberfest rally in Daytona Beach, Florida on October 16th through the 19th. This episode we take a few minutes to chat with Lori Campbell-Baker, Brian Bentley, and Andrew Booth from the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Biketoberfest is all about the beautiful Florida weather, live music, the industry’s top vendors, bike shows, and motorcycle racing at Daytona International Speedway. And don’t forget, there are miles of spectacular rides along the famous A1A, the historic Main Street and the Ormond Beach Scenic Loop. You should also know about the Harley Dream Giveaway… Tickets are available to win a Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST and a Ford F-250 Harley-Davidson edition from Teddy Morse’s Daytona Harley-Davidson. So there really is something for everyone here, even families, and almost every event and attraction is free to attend. So if you want a fun few days out in the Florida sunshine, Biketoberfest really is the place to be. Download the Biketoberfest mobile App from Apple or Google Play or visit www.biketoberfest.orgfor more details.
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Have you ever been shot at when riding your motorcycle? Well, our guest this episode continues our adventure theme, where Teejay Adams chats with world-traveler Sikandar Khan, of Khan’s Motoverse fame, a well-known YouTube channel. We interrupt Khan in the middle of his latest trip, from Alaska through to Patagonia, and he talks to Teejay about some of his extraordinary travels that have taken him across the world on his BMW GS—including the hair-raising one where he was shot at!
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Here’s a quick reminder to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!
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