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.
The Motos and Friends Podcast is brought to you by Insta360. This episode is also brought to you by the 33rd annual Biketoberfest® rally that takes place in the Daytona Beach and Volusia County areas, Florida; on Oct. 16-19.
In our first segment, Don Williams and Kelly Callan discuss the all-new 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R. This is a clean-sheet motorcycle with little in common with its predecessor. The R has a new chassis, larger-displacement engine, and a 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheelset. Looking ready to hit the dirt with its rally-tall windscreen and wire-spoked wheels, the 390 Adventure R still sits in the Travel category, assuring us that KTM didn’t lose track of the pavement experience as the new model is prepped for off-road detours. In KTM’s extensive 390 lineup, the new Adventure R slots perfectly between another two new models—the more road-friendly Adventure X and the dual-sport Enduro R.
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Insta360, is the leader in 360-degree action camera technology. Teejay Adams and Arthur Coldwells took an Insta360 X5 on their recent trip to Alaska, and in this week’s Snippet they discuss their experiences with it.
Don’t forget to bag a free invisible selfie stick worth US$24.99 with your X5 purchase, head to store.insta360.comand use the promo code “ULTIMATE”, (available for the first 30 purchases only).
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Now here’s a really cool event coming up this October that you should not miss! It’s the 33rd annual Biketoberfest® rally that takes place in the Daytona Beach and Volusia County areas; this year it’s on Oct. 16-19. The four-day motorcycle event attracts riding enthusiasts to the destination for the beautiful Florida weather, live music, the industry’s top vendors, bike shows, motorcycle racing at Daytona International Speedway. There are miles of scenic rides along the famous A1A, historic Main Street and the Ormond Beach Scenic Loop. For more information andto book your plans for Biketoberfest® 2025, visit www.biketoberfest.org
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In our second segment this week, Teejay Adams chats with Lucy Blondel, from Vancouver, Canada. Lucy is a regular at track days on her BMW S1000RR and Suzuki Gixxer 750. She also competes on her Ninja 400, but we met her through her 2024 and 25 seasons participation in the Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race program. She didn’t win a race, but she acquitted herself extremely well and is proud of her accomplishments. Unfortunately Lucy has had some life-changing challenges in the last couple of years, and yet somehow has come through it all and is still smiling and riding motorcycles very, very fast.
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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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