AMA Congratulates Team USA riders Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper, and team manager Roger DeCoster

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — America is once again the motocross capital of the world. Team USA reclaimed the Chamberlain Trophy, which the United States last won in 2011, when riders Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper, led by team manager Roger DeCoster, triumphed at the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme’s Motocross of Nations at Red Bud Track ’N’ Trail in Buchanan, Mich., on Sept. 25.

“This Motocross of Nations was a perfect demonstration of the success that comes from having the right people — motivated and talented people — in the right positions, from our team coordinators to the riders themselves to our team manager,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “Congratulations to all who contributed to this effort, and particularly Eli, Chase and Justin, who rode exceptionally well and demonstrated the utmost professionalism while representing America.”

Tomac, Sexton and Cooper defeated teams from 31 countries and two FIM Continental Unions en route to the historic win.

The FIM Motocross of Nations features teams of riders in three classifications: MXGP, MX2 and Open. Racing takes place in three motos. One includes MXGP and MX2 riders; one includes MX2 and Open riders; and one includes MXGP and Open riders. Each team’s rider is scored based on where they finished in the combined motos. Those scores are tallied to determine the winning team.

Tomac finished 1-6 in the MXGP class. Sexton finished 2-3 in the Open class. And Cooper finished 9-4 in the MX2 class. Cooper’s result, the best in the MX2 class, earned him the individual championship in that event.

“When we’re on top of that podium, there is nothing like it,” said Tomac, the Team USA captain. “The whole motocross community comes together for this event. I’ve been on the top of the podium before, but this takes the cake. I will never forget that moment. It will stay with me forever.”

The Motocross of Nations teams are selected by the national federations affiliated with the FIM in each participating country. In the United States, that’s the American Motorcyclist Association. AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier runs the AMA effort to select, organize, support and help fund the team.

“The cooperation this year was off the charts,” Pelletier said. “Of course, the riders’ teams themselves, which included Star Yamaha and Team Honda, were behind this effort 100 percent. We also had help from industry partners, such as Feld Entertainment, Alpinestars and Monster Energy, as well as other individuals and groups such as Paul Perebijnos, who organized a golf fundraiser, FMF, who produced fundraising t-shirts, and the family of the late Tom White, who held a fundraiser at Tom’s Early Years of Motocross Museum. The AMA can’t thank these partners enough for supporting this championship-winning campaign.”

Dingman added that the U.S. effort would not be the same without its most important volunteer: AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend Roger DeCoster.

“Roger gives his all to this event,” Dingman said. “His experience and leadership help in ways that can’t be quantified. We appreciate his work and the support of his employer, KTM North America, which allows Roger to be a part of this effort every year.”

Dingman added: “It’s an honor to have the support of so many stakeholders at this event. All year these teams and companies compete against one another on the track and through their support of individual riders. Here, we are one team, Team USA, and I’m proud to say, today we are definitively the best motocross team in the world.”

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Begin Press Release: 

Kailub Russell Goes Out a Champ

Rancho Cucamonga: Champions dream of retiring on top, but few pull it off. Kailub Russell is an exception. The KTM factory rider won nine races this year to win his eighth consecutive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) title, and called it a career.

A longtime Dunlop rider, Russell has had a storied off-road career; two-time ISDE gold medalist; two-time Full Gas Sprint Enduro Pro Champion; AMA National Enduro Champion; record-setting GNCC racer who amassed 67 premier class wins en route to eight championships.

One of the secrets to Russell’s success is his tire combination, one he rarely changes despite the huge variety of gnarly terrain and conditions encountered in GNCC racing. Up front, he normally runs the Geomax® MX33, and in back a Geomax AT81—the same tires available to the public.

“The MX33 front gives me control and the feeling I’m looking for in every type of terrain we come across,” says Russell. “And the AT81 is a great all-around tire for the variety of different surfaces of dirt we find during a race. Most races always have some soft terrain along with very slippery hard pack and this tire allows me to find the most traction the track has to offer. There’s an advantage in knowing you have the best tires on the track no matter what the terrain. That gives me the most comfort and confidence in my line choices.”

“Kailub Russell is one of the greatest off-road riders in history, and it’s great to see him finish his long and decorated career as a champion,” said Mike Buckley, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing. “Big congratulations to Kailub from all his friends and fans at Dunlop.”

About Dunlop Motorcycle Tires

Dunlop is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S.A. For more information, visit: www.DunlopMotorcycleTires.com

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Travis Pastrana is a psycho, seriously, but in the best way possible. He’s also one of the most genuinely nice human beings out there. There are few other people in this world who can seemingly bend the laws of physics to their will like he can, and then bounce off the ground like a basketball (or sack of potatoes) only to get up and do it again when things don’t go as planned. He’s revolutionized the sport of freestyle motocross, and all the other action sports he’s tried. From skydiving and base jumping, back flipping and front flipping motorcycles, to racing rally cars and demolishing anything in his path, all the while somehow managing not to die – there’s no end or limit to Travis’ abilities or creative ideas. He just landed this one trick – I don’t even think there’s a name for it yet, but it could easily be called the “what the fuuuh…” – and all the spinning and twisting while back flipping through the air, several stories above the ground is enough to puzzle even a Rubik’s Cube wizard.

 

A post shared by Levi LaVallee (@levi_lavallee) on Jun 27, 2018 at 5:59pm PDT

See what I mean?

We’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Travis and his crew over the past month as he’s been preparing for his Evel Knievel world record tribute jumps in Vegas this Sunday. We’ll be there in person as Travis attempts three jumps over the Caesar’s Palace fountain, 16 Greyhound busses and 52 cars. One way or another, history will be made, and you can watch it all unfold live on the History Channel, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern.

We also got to attend a special world premier with Travis at Red Bull HQ for his newest movie, Action Figures 2. He and the Nitro Circus crew elevate their shenanigans to a whole new level and it’s definitely a must see if you’re any sort of a motorsports fan, or if you like to see people do crazy shit. The Action Figures 2 trailer as well as a longer sneak peak can be watched below, but these clips only scratch the surface compared to happens in the movie. We hope everybody had a great Fourth and here’s to keeping the party going this weekend. Cheers!

‘Mericuh!

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The unique Red Bull Straight Rhythm event is back again this year for its fifth installment, but this time, it’s all about the two-strokes – yeahhh baby. There won’t be any four-strokes lining up, but you will see some electric Altas – kind of like a past meets future type of shindig, which is pretty awesome when it comes to motorcycles. Girlfriends, not so much.

When the two-stroke class was introduced last year, it was all anyone could talk about, and there was a shitstorm of trash talking that ensued back-and-forth amongst the riders prior to the event, fueled by none other than Ronnie Mac. Of course, it was all in good fun, and no feelings were actually hurt – motocross racers are some of the toughest athletes in the world, after all – but it was pretty hilarious nonetheless and added an extra element of excitement. It’s racing; you have to try and ruffle your competitor’s feathers somehow, and why not give the crowd something to cheer for, right? The two-stroke races were by far the most anticipated of the night.

Well, this year Red Bull is going all in and we can expect some big-timers to show up with their old two-smokers, as well as many of the current 250/450 guys. Last year Ryan Villopoto lined up on his KX250, and Travis Pastrana on his RM-Zilla 500 the year before. We might see some other motocross legends like Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy McGrath or even Kevin Windham dusting off and getting reacquainted with their old steeds to see if they still have what it takes to run with the young guns. Who knows?

It’s been pretty cool to see the resurgence in popularity of two-stroke motocross racing, and two-strokes in general. There’s definitely a sense of nostalgia that comes with it, plus they’re cheaper to own and maintain. The 125 All Star Series was added as an additional class for six of 12 rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship due to the growing interest and popularity in 125cc two-strokes. 125s have an interesting powerband; like a light switch really, it’s all or nothing, so racing them means you’re holding it wide open the entire time. And brakes? Who needs ‘em. Gas is on the right.

This year’s Red Bull Straight Rhythm is October 20th in Pomona, California. Check out last year’s full race below, and Red Bull’s announcement for this year’s event further down.

Red Bull:

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va (February 7, 2018) —The first step to qualify for the 37th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, begins this weekend in the Southwest region. Arizona Cycle Park in Buckeye, Arizona will play host the first of 57 different Area Qualifiers, this weekend, February 10 and 11.

“This is perhaps the most exciting time of the year as racers get to dust off their motorcycles and get back onto the dirt on their Road to Loretta’s,” said MX Sports Director Tim Cotter.  “The organizers for the AMA Area Qualifiers are all prepped and ready to go and ready to welcome an estimated 25,000 entries at their race tracks for the 2018 season.”

The Area Qualifiers serve as the first phase in qualifying for the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross championship. The Regional Championships then serve as the next step to seed riders into the National Championship. Only riders who finish in a qualifying position at a Regional Championship are eligible to race the National the week of July 30 through August 4, 2018 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

The AMA Amateur National Championship is the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross race where riders from all over the world compete in the National class structure that includes classes for youth riders on 50cc bikes all the way up to vet and senior classes.

As with past years, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Race Gas program will be in effect for the Area Qualifiers in 2018. Participants who race in at least one class will receive $10 in Race Gas Cash, which can be used on any product purchased on the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC website. 

The 2018 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, takes place July 30 through August 4 at the renowned Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

To view the full schedule of Area Qualifiers, click HERE. For more information on the AMA Amateur National, visit the series official website at www.mxsports.com or call (304) 284-0101. Join the conversation on the event’s social media channels, along with receiving the most up-to-date news and exclusive content.

• Facebook: @LorettaLynnMX
• Instagram: @LorettaLynnMX
• Twitter: @LorettaLynnMX

About the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross racing program. The national qualifying program consists of 57 Area Qualifiers (February through May) and 13 Regional Championships (May through June), hosted at select motocross facilities across the country. The qualifying system culminates in the National Final (first week in August) hosted annually since 1982 at the home of country music star Loretta Lynn in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. Nearly 22,000 racers attempt to qualify in 35 classes for the 1,470 available positions at the National. Christened “The World’s Greatest Motocross Vacation”, the National event serves as a launch pad for some of the biggest names in professional motocross and supercross, including Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Aaron Plessinger and Justin Barcia. The national program is produced by MX Sports, Inc., a West Virginia-based race production company and sanctioned by AMA. For more information, please visit www.mxsports.com. 

About the American Motorcyclist Association

Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com. Not a member? Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.

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In fact, at the end of three different races, or motos, around Hammertown at the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area outside of Landers, California, FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Cody Webb was the only rider to complete the entire 2018 King of the Motosm race within the allotted time. All others missed the cutoff time to go out on the final loop of the extra-long third moto, many having lost significant time searching for a waypoint that Webb also overlooked, though he successfully gambled on putting enough distance on his pursuers that it outweighed any penalty.

So, after much discussion and calculations, Lewis declared Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-road Team’s Colton Haaker the 2018 King of the Motos runner-up with Beta’s Max Gerston third.

Ironically, missing a check at the 2017 King of the Motos stripped Webb of the win so when he realized he’d missed one this year, he said, “I started thinking, ‘Oh man, I lost the race again!’ “But I knew a lot of the other guys…they told me when I came in [to the pits] that a lot of other guys missed it, so I started thinking in my head about the points, like, ‘Kamo got fourth this morning and if he gets first, that might be enough [to win], I don’t know, but I’ll finish!’ “As soon as I heard that, I put my head down and pretty much sprinted that whole last lap. I changed my [rear] tire [to one with a stickier compound] and messed with my clickers because I was getting beat up that first lap. I felt I ripped that second loop around there, trying to make some time and it ended up working out that those guys didn’t make it to the [pits by the cutoff time].”

Webb started the 2018 King of the Motos weekend by dominating the short first moto, run on Saturday night at the 2018 King of the Motos, that started by going up Jackhammer, out on a loop that for Pros visited Jackhammer again a few miles later (when it was still littered with Amateurs who’d only made it that far) and finished by going down Chocolate Thunder. Defending KOM champion Haaker was a few minutes back for second with Gas Gas North America’s Noah Kepple third.

The first thing Sunday morning found the Pros only going out for an even shorter but tougher moto, including a run up Backdoor. Again, Webb ran away with Haaker second and Gerston third in a preview of things to come.

However, the biggest challenge lay in the third moto. Not only would riders need to tackle a lot of extremely difficult desert, they’d also have to be on the bike for at least six or seven hours, constantly paying attention to navigating. The first loop saw them go west towards The Rockpile off Bessemer Mine Road, and this is the area that proved to hide one particularly elusive waypoint.

As Webb noted, “At the beginning of the race, I felt like I had the GPS following pretty good, but somehow I missed that check. Every time Colton would get in the lead, all of a sudden I found myself in the lead right after again because he’d make a navigation error. The GPS did a lot of people dirty this year. Me, I was one of them,” Kepple said. “It’s a little confusing with the GPS. There’s no arrows on the [GPS] tracks so you don’t really know if you’re going the right way on which track and some of them overlap.”

He continued, “[Lewis] built an awesome course for us to test our skills on, but I’m pretty bummed with how the last race went.”

Haaker added, “I was right behind Cody when I went to fix my mistake [and find the waypoint], but it ended up costing me an extra 45 minutes to run this extra [distance] so by the time I came back to do my third loop, I ran out of time because I went to fix that mistake where Jimmy’s throwing [that waypoint] out and saying it doesn’t matter because I did it out of order, but out of order to me doesn’t matter when you don’t put the checkpoints in sequential order [on the GPS track].”

Gerston was likewise confused with how the 2018 King of the Motos results were determined, saying, “I was told when I finished that if you didn’t hit the checkpoints in order, then they didn’t even count and I did the whole loop backwards. I hit all the checkpoints but not in order, then now it looks like that’s okay. The main emotion of the day was frustration.”

After being the first of the top finishers to hit all the waypoints, PCI Race Radios KTM-mounted Kamo believed he was runner-up to Webb. Instead, he was informed later that he’d earned fifth place, a frustrating turn of events for him as well.

But those who looked for a tougher KOM this year got their wish, and it proved to be a popular way to kick off the hugely popular 12th Annual Nitto King of the Hammers, Powered by Optima Batteries week.

Results available at www.ultra4racing.com.

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Walkner, who was rarely the fastest rider from stage to stage. He claimed just one win in the 12 stages that were run (two motorcycle stages were cancelled during the 14-stage, two-week-long race), but it proved to be the one that will forever tell the story of his win. It was during Stage 10 that the former FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion would move into an insurmountable lead by carefully navigating a precarious stage while many of his closest competitors got lost. The only man in Walkner’s league at that point was Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally’s Adrien Van Beveren, and when the Frenchman suffered a high-speed crash just a few miles from the finish of the stage and had to withdraw with multiple serious injuries, the 2018 Dakar Rally effectively became Walkner’s to lose.

That didn’t happen. Walkner was able to celebrate his first career Dakar Rally win while KTM celebrated its 17th consecutive Dakar Rally win as a manufacturer, an amazing string to be sure.

“It’s really, really amazing,” said Walkner, who finished eighth in Stage 14 but ended the event with a total time of 43 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, leaving him an advantage of 16 minutes and 53 seconds over runner-up Kevin Benavides. “I was never thinking that I really could win. The goal was to stay on the podium, but it was so close this year, and day 10 was a key day. Maybe luck was on my side this time, but it’s really a dream come true. It was a really crazy Dakar. The riding level was so high. There were five other people who could have won it, but it looks like I was the lucky one. I was surely a little bit lucky. I think that on the Dakar you need a bit of luck on, but sometimes you have it and sometimes you don’t have it. This time it was on my side. In 2016 after my bad injury, that changed a lot for me. It’s so cool to be back here.”

Second overall went to Kevin Benavides, who won the final stage with a time of 1 hour, 26 minutes and 41 seconds, outrunning close rival and Red Bull KTM rider Toby Price by 54 seconds to remain 6 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of the 2016 Dakar Rally Champion at the finish. Benavides finished strong in Argentina, much to the delight of his countrymen. Along the way, he held the overall lead after Stage 6.

“I feel amazing,” Benavides said. “This sensation for me is incredible. To win is my dream, so I touched it a little bit. We need to continue pushing and pushing for next year. Now I know I can do it, so I’ll continue preparing and try to do it.”

There’s little question that Price will no doubt be pushing hard again next year. But for his massive navigational error along with much of the field in Stage 10, the Australian might have been knocking on the door of his second Dakar Rally win. But as he said since that day, that’s how it goes, and he still had to be pleased with his third-place finish after being unable to defend his Dakar Rally title in the 2017 edition due to an injury.

“Three podiums is really amazing,” Price said. “After the year I had, it’s a dream come true, for sure. It was rough, but with 12 months under our belt we’ll be ready to go for the next one. I didn’t even expect this finish. A lot of people didn’t even expect me to be at the start line. I knew I’d be at the start line, but I didn’t know what shape I would be in. Twelve weeks ago it was looking pretty grim. Six weeks ago I started training and riding. It’s a steep curve again. I seem to enjoy these steep curves to get back to where I need to be. It’s never any fun, but we’re really happy to be here and get a third place. Every time I’ve crossed the finishing line and made it to the end, I’ve been on the podium, so I’m really happy with this. I’m already looking forward to the next one. To have 12 months off and not do any road-books, navigation or any races at all and then come straight back into the biggest race of the year… on the toughest one in years as well.

“This is the fourth one I’ve started, and this has been the toughest one of the lot,” Price continued. “They’re definitely not making it any easier on us. We were just trying to get through and do what we can. The new bike that KTM have come up with is an amazing bit of equipment. I think that’s what has made the job a little bit easier for me. I’ve got the beach body now to head back home to Australia and lie on the beach for two weeks solid. But then we’ll get back to training, hook in and come back. Hopefully it will be bigger and better things next year.”

2018 Dakar Rally
Stage 14: Cordoba, Argentina
Results: January 20, 2018 (Stage 14 of 14)

Stage 14
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / 1 hour 26 minutes, 41 seconds
2. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:00:54
3. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:02:48
4. Daniel Oliveras (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:03:25
5. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing / +00:04:19
6. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +00:05:01
7. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:05:23
8. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:05:38
9. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:07:57
10. Juan Pedrero (SPA)-Sherco TVS Rally Factory / 00:10:53

2018 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 14 of 14 stages)
1. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 43 hours, 6 minutes, 1 second
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:16:53
3. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:23:01
4. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:47:28
5. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +01:01:04
6. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing / +01:53:53
7. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +02:22:52
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +02:24:05
9. Daniel Oliveras (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +02:37:20
10. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +02:42:36

The post 2018 Dakar Rally Stage 14: Matthias Walkner Wins the Dakar Rally! appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Today’s stage featured two different timed specials totalling 424 kilometers. The first was a mix of sand, vegetation and river beds, while the second also threw-in a stint in the Argentinan dunes. Price, who won Stage 12 did his best to pull time on Benavides, but despite finishing the gruelling timed specials with a winning pace of 4 hours, 48 minutes and 33 seconds, the 2016 Dakar Rally Champion was only able to make up a little more than 2 minutes on the hard-riding Argentinian rider, and he finished the day 5 minutes and 14 seconds behind Benavides in the overall standings.

“Very, very good. It’s good to get the stage out of the way,” Price said. “All the day went really well. This morning we had a couple of tricky bits, but it was a good fast track with really rough sections, so I pushed pretty hard there and made a little bit of time. I’m not to sure about the last bit, but we made a few small mistakes and went off track a bit. I felt good, I pushed hard and I made it to the finishing line so I’m happy. I was trying to win both the stage and second place. For sure, it’s nice to try and get stage wins.

“Coming to the end of the week and almost to the finish, I need to try and get some wins and try and get some time back,” Price continued. “Unfortunately, I made that big mistake a few days ago and that’s cost me a lot. That’s just the way it is. We’re just trying to claw back as much as we can and show everybody that we’ve got good speed. The navigation was not so bad today. It was good, but there were a lot of speed zones in this second part. You had to be pretty careful and precise to make sure you don’t do any over-speeding. We had a couple of off-track excursions but other than this the stage went really well and we navigated well the whole day. Hopefully that’s taken some time back for us, so we’ll see. It would be nice to beat Kevin. That’s the aim and the goal but Kevin’s riding really well, really strongly and really fast at the moment. He’s a little guy, so the bike’s got really good top-speed, so I’ll have to try and beat him on corner-speed. We’re just trying to mow down as much time as we can and fingers crossed it gets us into second, but if not 12 weeks ago I would have laughed and said I wouldn’t have been here on the starting line and if anyone said I was going to maybe try and push for a podium finish I definitely would have laughed pretty hard then. We’ll see… It would be nice to try and get onto the second step. At the moment, third is not looking too bad, but it’s not over yet.”

Benavides was content that he rode well enough to not only keep Price at Bay but to also take 9 minutes off of overall leader Matthias Walkner, who, barring catastrophe, should win the 2018 Dakar Rally with plenty of room to spare. Walkner finished just behind teammate Antoine Meo in Stage 13, and he was just over 11 minutes behind Price, but the Austrian is still 22 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of Benavides with just the final short stage around Cordoba separating Walkner from his first career Dakar Rally win.

“Today I rode a good stage, which was hard, but where I had a lot of fun on the sand tracks,” Benavides said. “I had a minor fall, but I pushed hard and was able to take some time back the leader. Tomorrow I will go out and try to ride an intelligent race. We are going to try to take it carefully because there are several dangers and you can’t mess around.”

Unfortunately for Monster Energy Honda and American rally fans, Ricky Brabec had to call an end to his 2018 Dakar Rally campaign after he was unable to finish the first special due to an electrical problem. Brabec came into the day sixth overall, and was hoping to end the 2018 Dakar Rally with his best finish to date in the Dakar. It just wasn’t to be.

“It was very unfortunate on the penultimate day for me to have an electric issue and they forced me to quit, as they only gave me an hour to get moving again,” Brabec said. “We’ll just have to keep working hard towards next year. I’m sorry to all friends and fans whom I haven’t been able to keep up to date recently. Thank you all very much for the support.”

While he had a tough day, fellow American Andrew Short is on the cusp of finishing his maiden Dakar Rally with a top-20 overall finish. Short posted the 37th fastest time in Stage 13, but he remains 17th overall.

“Today was tough, really tough,” Short said. “The stage was so long, and at this point in the rally it was especially tiring. The beginning of the special was really soft, and it was difficult to get a good rhythm going. The later half was on much faster tracks, and it was flat out for a lot of the way. I didn’t push too hard because a crash there would have been pretty extreme. I’m happy to get to the finish, and now, with only one day left, I’m looking forward to completing my first Dakar Rally.”

As for Walkner, just 120 kilometers now separate him from the glory of winning the 2018 Dakar Rally.

“I just tried to do nothing crazy [in Stage 13],” Walkner said. “I know it was a really, really long day and the guys in the back were pushing like hell. I had a good heading, and I didn’t want to be too nervous. I just tried to be focused on the stage and do my best. There is quite a big gap, but it can change so quickly. We’ve seen this today and before, if you have a technical problem and you get a bit lost. It can change really, really quickly, but at the moment it does not look so bad for me. I tried to just do nothing crazy, because in the end the race is over 14 days, and it is not stage by stage. It’s the fastest overall who will win, so I didn’t want to risk so much, because it was quite a long day and a dangerous day for going fast, because there were big rocks on the side. It was a good day, I think. There is still one day more to go, it’s really crazy to think otherwise. A lot of things can still happen. Twenty minutes on the last day is the same as twenty minutes on the second or third day. We have 120 kilometers left to go, so I’m going to stay focused on it and try my best.”

2018 Dakar Rally
Stage 13: San Juan, Argentina, to Cordoba, Argentina
Results: January 19, 2018 (Stage 13 of 14)

Stage 13
1. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 4 hours, 48 minutes, 33 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:02:03
3. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:02:44
4. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:11:32
5. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-Sherco TVS Rally Factory / +00:15:12
6. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing / +00:16:10
7. Armand Monleon (SPA)-Daming Racing Team / +00:21:31
8. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +00:21:54
9. Jonathan Barragán (SPA)-Gas Gas Racing / +00:22:11
10. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:23:34

2018 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 13 of 14 stages)
1. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 41 hours, 33 minutes, 42 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:22:31
3. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:27:45
4. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:50:17
5. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +01:01:19
6. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing / +01:54:12
7. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +02:06:49
8. Oriol Mena Oriol (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +02:23:29
9. Daniel Oliveras Daniel (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +02:39:33
10. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +02:40:17

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The decision actually came down last night, leaving the riders to move out of Fiambalá to the next bivouac in San Juan. At first, the call was simply to cancel the first part of the timed special stage after the helicopters that help to keep the competitors safe were grounded due to fog. It was also determined that the river crossings were flooded due to heavy rains. The race was the expected to resume with the second section of timed special after the liasion section to Chilecito and then Section B. Race organizers then decided to postpone the motorcycles until an hour after the departure of the trucks, which didn’t sit well with the bike competitors. Finally, the entire stage was cancelled for the motorcycles and quads.

The end result is that the overall standings remain the same as Stage 11, with Red Bull KTM’s Matthias Walkner still holding an advantage of more than 32 minutes on Monster Energy Honda’s Kevin Benavides. Red Bull KTM’s Toby Price, who won Stage 11, is third, a little more than 39 minutes out of the lead.

Tomorrow’s stage, the penultimate stage in the 2018 Dakar Rally, runs from from San Juan to Córdoba. It will feature 424 kilometers of timed special, plus 483 kilometers of liaison. It is the longest stage of the 2018 Dakar Rally.

2018 Dakar Rally, Stage 12
Fiambalá to Chilecito to San Juan, Argentina (Cancelled)
January 18, 2018

2018 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 12 of 14 stages)
1. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 36 hours, 33 minutes, 37 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:32:00
3. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:39:17
4. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:49:17
5. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:59:05
6. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +01:18:10
7. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-GasGas Racing / +01:49:34
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +01:53:19
9. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +02:05:57
10. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +02:13:07

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Stage 11 featured a total distance of 485 kilometer in total between Belén and Fiambalá, with 280 kilometers of timed special, which ran the competitors through broken-up dry river beds and extremely technical sections before finishing with another section of sand dunes that led to some high-speed sections on the day to Fiambalá. Today’s starting order was set by the finishing positions of not just the motorcycles but all vehicles remaining in the 2018 Dakar Rally. Thus the motorcycle competitors had to deal with heavily rutted tracks.

Price had a good handle on the timed special anyway, finishing with a time of 4 hours, 1 minute and 33 seconds, 1 minute and 38 seconds ahead of Monster Energy Honda’s Kebin Benavides and 6 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Antoine Meo, the Stage 8 winner. But while he was pleased with the win, Price could only lament about the previous stage.

“Yesterday was… I’ve never felt so bad in my life,” Price said after getting lost in a pivotal Stage 10. “Today we just needed to try and see if we could claw back a little bit of time, and I think we’ve done that a little bit, but it’s gonna be tough from back where we are. It’s good to get a stage win. In the first week I was quite conservative, but now I attached some more, it’s good to get a stage win because I hadn’t done that this year so far. To be still in the race going towards the finish line is a pretty big achievement for me. My goal is just trying to stay on two wheels, not making a day like yesterday and seeing what that gives us at the finish line.”

Price’s stage win moved him back in an overall podium position, but teammate Matthias Walkner, who finished fifth today, 11 minutes and 1 second behind Price, is still 32 minutes ahead of Benavides and just over 39 minutes ahead of Price, a comfortable margin as the 2018 Dakar Rally nears its completion. It would take a monumental mistake or some really bad luck for Walkner to lose his advantage at this point in the rally. Still, the Austrian is not taking anything for granted yet.

“I spent most of the time with Stéphane Peterhansel today,” Walkner said. “I passed him on the dunes, but on the fast bits he passed me. Every day can change everything. I have to stay focused day after day. I don’t think so much about victory. Of course, I’m a little bit nervous. Just missing one waypoint can cost you 20 minutes. Keeping going and doing my best is all I can do.”

Stage 11 was another good one for Monster Energy Honda’s American rider, Ricky Brabec, who finished fourth, 7 minutes and 34 seconds behind Price, which helped to remain sixth in the overall rally standings.

“I am much happier than when I finished yesterday, which had been a nightmare to try to find that cursed waypoint,” Brabec said. “I feel fine; the bike is running really well too. We will continue fighting to finish this Dakar as best we can. I hope Joan gets well and improves soon.”

Brabec’s comment was a reference to the withdrawal of his Monster Energy Honda teammate, Joan Barreda, who called it quits while running second overall in after he was just to battered to continue. The knee injury he suffered while winning Stage 7 was bad enough, but Barreda crashed again in Stage 10 and suffered a concussion. He wanted to continue but was forced to end his seventh Dakar Rally campaign after posting three stage wins, the 20th, 21st and 22nd of his Dakar Rally career.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Barreda said. “Since I fell and hit my knee I have been suffering a lot in every stage. My knee was unstable, and I had to change my position on the bike but even that didn’t help. Today I reached a point where I couldn’t feel my leg any more and I think that, in spite of everything, the best decision has been to stop so as not to make the situation worse. It’s a pity because I was second in the race overall, but I wasn’t in any condition to fight to win the races.”

Barreda wasn’t the only one, as Slovnaft Racing’s Stefan Svitko also failed to start Stage 11 after crashing in Stage 10.

The 2018 Dakar Rally continues tomorrow as the field heads to San Juan, a total of 723 kilometers, including a reduced special stage of 288 kilometers along a route that is expected to be rocky and once again present some navigational challenges.

2018 Dakar Rally
Belén, Argentina, to Fiambalá, Argentina
Results: January 17, 2018 (Stage 11 of 14)

Stage 11
1. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 4 hours, 1 minute, 33 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:01:38
3. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:06:31
4. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:07:34
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:11:01
6. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:12:32
7. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing / +00:19:38
8. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-Sherco TVS Rally Factory / +00:22:46
9. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +00:27:00
10. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:27:08
13. Andrew Short (USA)-Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +00:36:22
14. Mark Samuels (USA)-OX Motorsports / +00:36:27

2018 Dakar Rally Overall Standings (after 11 of 14 stages)
1. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / 36 hours, 33 minutes, 37 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:32:00
3. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:39:17
4. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:49:17
5. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:59:05
6. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +01:18:10
7. Johnny Aubert (FRA)-GasGas Racing / +01:49:34
8. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Rally Team / +01:53:19
9. José Ignacio Cornejo (CHI)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +02:05:57
10. Oriol Mena (SPA)-Hero Motorsports Team Rally / +02:13:07

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