DAKAR 2020

Toby Price wins the first stage with Joan Barreda seventh

The Australian Toby Price has begun the defense of his victory in the Dakar by winning the first stage in the history of the test in Saudi Arabia, covering the 319 kilometers of special between Jeddah and Al Wajh in 3 hours, 19 minutes and 33 seconds.
[Update: Price has received a two-minute penalty. Keep the victory for five seconds].
The two-time winner of the test made the stage without a roadbook but took advantage of the reverse exit order among the Elite drivers (the first 23 race numbers) to overcome Ricky Brabec and Matthias Walkner in just over two minutes, with Kevin Benavides four minutes and Sam Sunderland closing a top 5 coached by KTM and Honda pilots, but closely followed by the Husqvarna of Chilean Pablo Quintanilla.
Joan Barreda has been the best Spanish to finish in seventh position but almost eight minutes from Price, and they have completed the top ten Luciano Benavides, Andrew Short and Adrien Van Beveren.



Laia Sanz(image above)  has imposed herself forcefully in the women's category, surpassing Dutch Mirjam Pol and South African Taye Perry in more than an hour, with Kirsten Landman fourth and Sara García fifth.
The GasGas rider has finished the stage in the 20th final position, a few places ahead of Joan Pedrero and Lorenzo Santolino, 24th and 26th respectively after paying the ‘open’ track.
In the 38th position, rookie Jaume Betriu has finished, with Fausto Mota 52º and Julián García Merino 61º for a total of seven Spaniards in the top 100 of the stage and, therefore, of the general.

DAKAR 2020: RESULTADOS ETAPA 1
P	Piloto	País	Moto	Tiempo
1	Toby PRICE	Australia	KTM	3h25'57''
2	Ricky BRABEC	EEUU	Honda	5''
3	Matthias WALKNER	Austria	KTM	40''
4	Kevin BENAVIDES	Argentina	Honda	2'31''
5	Sam SUNDERLAND	Gran Bretaña	KTM	3'15''
6	Pablo QUINTANILLA	Chile	Husqvarna	3'36''
7	Joan BARREDA	España	Honda	5'51''
8	Luciano BENAVIDES	Argentina	KTM	6'56''
9	Andrew SHORT	EEUU	Husqvarna	7'03''
10	Adrien VAN BEVEREN	Francia	Yamaha	7'52

by Nacho González