Page 111 - Australian Motorcycle News (January 2020)
P. 111
lever and calculative” was how two-time in the recent past. There was the illegal refuelling
Dakar Rally winner Toby Price described penalties for the three-rider team in 2017, which
American Ricky Brabec’s ride to his cost Spanish rider Joan Barreda Bort the lead and
historic Dakar Rally win. And it had to any hope of winning in the latter stages of the race.
Cbe, because there was far more than just Then the penalties for Kevin Benavides who was
a trophy at stake for the 42nd edition of arguably the caught concealing course notes on himself and on
world’s toughest off-road race. his bike during last year’s event. Honda argued both
Held for the first time in Saudi Arabia, more incidents were within legal interpretations of the
than a few teams were looking to use the unseen rulebook, of course, but race direction disagreed.
battleground to rewrite the history books. Honda rider Brabec publicly announced the
The stakes were high. All manufacturers were 2019 win was between himself and Rockstar
determined to break KTM’s 18-year winning Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla as early as the
streak, and none more than Honda, which hadn’t eighth stage – but it ended in heartbreak when the
tasted a Dakar victory since Frenchman Gillies engine in his CRF450 had other ideas.
Lalay rode his NXR 800V to the win in the 11th Likewise, Quintanilla was well poised for a final-
running of the event way back in 1989. stage showdown with eventual winner Toby Price
“All the manufacturers are trying really hard to when a crash just 10km into the final special cruelly
take this win streak off us,” Price said at the start left the Chilean rider with a broken foot.
of the 12-day event. “We know what to expect and And plagued by bad luck in recent years,
we’re going to just try our best to stay in the race and Yamaha, too, was eager to add a 10th Dakar title to
do what we can to get to the finish line first.” its all-time record, the first since 13-time winner
Honda has been desperate to add a sixth Dakar Stéphane Peterhansel claimed the spoils over two
winner’s trophy to its books, but it’s been this very decades ago in 1998. These were the bits that made
desperation which has let the Japanese brand down it memorable.
