First outing for Matthias Walkner and his new motorcycle at the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally. The Salzburg man was satisfied.
Motorcycle pilot Matthias Walkner has the prologue for the 2022 edition of Dakar rally finished in fifth place in Saudi Arabia. Salzburg was 2:35 minutes behind the Australian on New Year’s Day Daniel Sanders from GasGas-Team who will start the first stage as leader on Sunday. As the overture of the 44th Dakar Rally, 614 km north from Jeddah to Ha’il had to be covered. The stopwatch only ran on a section of just under 19 km.
The Chilean is also in the top five Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), the one starting for Botswana Ross Branch (Yamaha) as well as Walkners KTM brand colleague and last year’s winner Kevin Benavides from Argentina. The fastest of the prologue can choose the starting position on Sunday.
Walkner’s first job with a new device
Walker said he was still a little lacking the feel of the new bike, which he was using for the first time in racing conditions. “I noticed a few things that we still have to work on. All in all, it was a good start and a passable performance for the first day, “said Kuchler. In real terms, he was only 31 seconds behind Sanders, but according to the rules, that was multiplied by a factor of five.
Walkner was the first and so far only Austrian to win the 2018 rally, at that time the route still ran through Argentina. For the 35-year-old, it will be his eighth Dakar appearance this year; last year he had to settle for ninth place overall.
Cars: Al-Attiyah Fastest
In terms of cars, Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar was twelve seconds faster in the new Toyota than the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was driving the new hybrid Audi. It continues on Sunday with a stage north of Ha’il. The total distance is 514 km, with the assessed section being 334 km. (APA / Red)