Current Overall Standings After Stage 10

WATCH Best of Dakar 2019 Summary

• January 15, 2019: Stage 10

TOBY PRICE WINS THE 2019 DAKAR RALLY!!!

Toby Price won the last stage of the Dakar 2019 and wins the world’s biggest rally-raid for the second time, following his triumph in 2016. It was a performance of genuine class from the KTM rider who left everyone in his wake in Lima, beating José Cornejo by 2’21 to crown 10 extremely difficult days for the Australian who rode throughout the race with an injury.

Despite injury, Toby Price WINS the 2019 Dakar Rally! -- Photo by Florent Gooden

KTM are still unbeatable on the Dakar, with an 18th consecutive success thanks to a solid performance from Price. The Austrian firm even achieved a one-two thanks to the second place picked up by 2018 winner Matthias Walkner. Pablo Quintanilla put his Husqvarna on the third step of the podium, a machine that is no less than a KTM with a different badge.

WATCH the Stage 10 Bike/Quad Summary

Classifications at Stage 10

• January 15, 2019: Stage 9

 Classifications at Stage 9

Michael Metge took advantage of the stalemate among the leaders to clinch his first Dakar stage win. It was a great day for the French rider and Sherco, who managed to break the KTM-Honda duopoly.

"I'm so happy for myself and for the team"-- Michael Metge

"It was a very long stage for me. We started in the second line with Daniel Nosiglia and we stayed together throughout the stage, attacking very much. I made some navigation mistakes, but we kept a good rhythm and, in the end, we caught the first line. I was stressed at the end because victory was very closely fought, but I tried to stay focused and when I crossed the finish line it was very nice. I'm so happy for the team because we did a very good job this year. The bike works very well and I'm so happy because they pushed a lot, also so happy for all the people who follow me, my sons and my wife. I dedicate this victory to them."-- Michael Metge

Husqvarna's Chilean rider, Pablo Quintanilla, is heading into the final stage in second place overall and needs to close a 1'02" gap to Toby Price to claim his first Dakar title.

"Today was a mass start, so there was no chance to make a difference. I want to congratulate my friend Nacho Cornejo, who did a really good job, for all the hard work with the difficult navigation. […] It was difficult to navigate between valleys and dunes. But I'm happy to finish one more day and one more stage to go. Yeah, the race is really tight with Toby. It's been a really hard race, but I'm happy at the moment with the result and my performance, but for sure tomorrow I'll give it my 100% to win the race."-- Pablo Quintanilla

Toby Price overcame the pain in his right wrist to match his rivals blow-for-blow and will start the 112 km closing stage with a razor-thin margin of 1'02" over Pablo Quintanilla.

"I'd like to finish on top. We're so close, it's so tight! We're all still in with a shout. I know it's going to be very hard tomorrow, and I'll give it my best. I know I'm likely to be on the podium tomorrow, and it's amazing, but I obviously want to win."-- Toby Price

WATCH the Stage 9 Bike/Quad Summary

Classifications at Stage 9

• January 15, 2019: Stage 8

Matthias Walkner posted the best time to win the Super Ica special stage. The Austrian beat Pablo Quintanilla and Toby Price, but reminds behind his two rivals in the general standings.

“Until the refuelling, Toby caught up a lot of time on me. But in the dunes I tried to push really hard in the morning. It was a really fast track with not really visible stones and I didn’t feel so good, but at the end I felt quite good and tried to push a lot”.

 Matthias Walkner secures the win at Stage 8 of the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by Frederic Le Floc'h

The winner of the Dakar 2016, Toby Price is once again the leader of the rally, but is having to cope with an increasingly painful wrist as he prepares to tackle the last two stages of the rally.

“Today, I knew it had to count. That was my maximum today, so any more than that, well… I can’t do any more. My wrist is on fire now, so it’s been a long stage, 360 km, but we’ve made it here to the finish and there’s just two more to go – this is a good thing. [For the wrist] you’ve just got to somehow shut it off. There’s times when you can rest it and when you can’t, but it’s just difficult, though when you throw your helmet on and you go and ride your bike, you just want to do the best you can, and try and do it all again”.

Ricky Brabec is genuinely unlucky on the Dakar. Indeed, in 2018, the HRC rider was forced to drop out on stage 8 after the engine on his Honda broke. The same fate has befallen him and the world’s leading constructor has lost its best chance of winning the Dakar, a race that time and again slips through the grasp of the manufacturer with the winged...

Due to engine failure, Honda HRC's Ricky Brabec is forced to drop out of the 2019 Dakar Rally.

Pablo Quintanilla reached the last time check point before the finishing line just 36 seconds behind Toby Price. The Husqvarna rider is now more than ever in with a chance for stage victory.

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 8 Summary

Adrien van Beveren placed second in the general standings this morning, due to navigational errors the Yamaha rider was not able to take advantage of Ricky Brabec dropping out of the race.

“The day was hard again. To start in the fog and in the fesh-fesh is not easy. I’m not super happy about my stage. I wanted to push maybe too much and I made some navigation mistakes, which is normally my strongest point. Anyway, we’re going to check after and nothing is all done, nothing is finished”. Adrien van Beveren

• January 14, 2019: Stage 7

Sam Sunderland came out on top in the loop around San Juan de Marcona. He now stands less than 10 minutes behind the new overall leader, Ricky Brabec. The British rider, fourth overall, is just one second ahead of Pablo Quintanilla, who lost time today.

"Yesterday was a big disappointment. I rode fast and navigated well, but the type of special played into the hands of the others. My rear brake problem obviously didn't help. Today, apart from losing three or four minutes looking for a waypoint, the special went well. I wanted to push hard this morning and it paid off."-- Sam Sunderland

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WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 7 Summary

 Classifications at Stage 7

• January 13, 2019: Stage 6

Pablo Quintanilla could not have dreamt of a better start to the second half of the rally. The Chilean overcame a problem with the road book to take stage 6 ahead of Kevin Benavides and seize the overall lead, with less than 5 minutes separating the two South American riders.

Pablo Quintanilla wins Stage 6 and takes the Overall lead at the 2019 Dakar Rally! - Photo by Florent Gooden DPPI

"It was a hard stage. I attacked from the beginning, caught Kevin and overtook him. At km 290, I had a problem with the road book and was unable to read it, so I had to follow Kevin. We were near the finish when I got a fuel running. In the end, it was a blessing in disguise to have to ride behind because, if I'd kept on attacking at the same pace, I would've run out of petrol. In the end, it was a tough and stressful day, but it's a fantastic finish." -- Pablo Quintanilla

The defending champion, Matthias Walkner finished third today and stayed in contention for the win, sitting in sixth place overall about 10 minutes behind Quintanilla.

"For me, it was quite good because I had some good lines in front of me, but the navigation was really tricky and I always tried to focus on the road book, not just trust the lines. I was all day more or less alone, so it feels quite long, and it was really intense because the pace was quite high, especially on the straights." -- Matthias Walkner

Adrien Van Beveren finished fifth today and is also sitting fifth overall, still a threat at less than 10 minutes Quintanilla. The Yamaha rider is banking on a war of attrition. The intense pain in his right wrist has in no way dampened Toby Price's fighting spirit. The Australian finished fourth in stage 6 and defended his third place overall, five minutes behind the leader.

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 6 Summary

Classifications at Stage 6

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• January 11, 2019: Stage 5

"At the conclusion of Special Stage Five, we saw Xavier de Soultrait (#18) at the front with Walkner (#1), Santolino (#63), Beveren (#4) and Short (#29) at his heels. But after consideration from the ASO, Sam Sunderland (#14), whom had stopped today to assist Paulo Gonçalves (#2) after his game-ending crash, reportedly awarded Sunderland extra minutes off his resulting time, elevating Sam to first place. Meanwhile, Walkner incurred a 3-minute penalty, subsequently reordering today's results. 

The time removed from Sam's score was surely appreciated as the #14 Red Bull KTM Factory Team rider had slowed once more in the last leg of the special to offered guidance to rookie Skyler Howes (#73) whose road book had split 100 kilometers from the finish, leaving him blind." -- WestX1000

Now that he has recovered the time lost assisting Paulo Gonçalves, Sam Sunderland has been declared winner of the 5th stage in Arequipa. The Englishman has beaten Xavier de Soultrait by 3’23 and climbs to second place in the general standings, only 59 seconds behind Ricky Brabec. 

“It was a mass start day and there was not much to win or lose, but unfortunately for Gonçalves and I stopped with him. After that, I stopped for a long time with him, maybe ten minutes, I’m not sure… Then I was back with all the other guys in the dust so I had to try to… I didn’t have any reference of how much time I was losing, so I was thinking that my race was going downhill. I pushed a lot and finally it was ok. It’s day five - we have a long way to go. It’s been really tough, really difficult. If the first five days are anything to go by then, sure, there will be a lot more chaos to come”. -- Sam Sunderland

Red Bull KTM Factory's Sam Sunderland wins Stage 5 at the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by DPPI

 Paulo Gonçalves will not reach the finish of his 12th Dakar. The official Honda rider has suffered a severe fall after 155 km on the special and has been forced to drop out for the fifth time in his career on the Dakar. The Portuguese has suffered a slight head injury and possibly a broken hand.

Andrew Short put on a fine display at the start of the fifth special. At CP1, the Husqvarna rider has took the lead by just two seconds over his team-mate Pablo Quintanilla. The two men started in the same wave and could give a fine example of team-work today. Short finishes 6th at Stage 5, bringing him into the Top 10 overall.

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 5 Summary

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• January 10, 2019: Stage 4

Beaten right at the finish yesterday, Ricky Brabec reacted like a champion on the route to Moquegua, handing out a veritable lesson to his rivals. At a faster pace than all the rest all along the 351 km of the special, the American produced a master stroke to bring the second stage victory of his career on the Dakar and take the lead in the general standings. The trio of official KTMs limited the damage with Walkner, Price and Sunderland finishing in that order behind the winner, while Pablo Quintanilla and Xavier de Soultrait crawled to the finish more than 20 minutes later.

Watch the Bike/Quad Stage 4 Summary

After getting lost on Wednesday, Brabec more than made up for it Tacna. The American was victorious on completion of the first marathon stage and also moved into the lead in the general standings.

“I needed it. Yesterday was tough on me and I lost a lot of time. Today I really, really needed to push with the marathon night and motocross start tomorrow. It kind of helps me because tomorrow I can kind of just hang back and have the stage under my control and finish where I want. With the motocross start it makes it easy to manage. That’s my plan for tomorrow and I’m really happy with today and getting the stage win as well as making up a bit of time. I put a hole in my rear tyre so I maybe need to change that with my team-mate Nacho Conejo. But other than that, the bike didn’t touch the ground. My body is still 100%, the bike is still 100%. We'll go back and do a quick review of the bike and then put it to sleep for the night".

Ricky Brabec dominates Stage 4 of the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by Marcelo Machado de Melo

Behind the untouchable Brabec, KTM achieved a good string of successes with three official riders one after another. Matthias Walkner takes 2nd place, 6’19 behind the stage winner, Toby Price is 3rd, 7’07 behind the American, and Sam Sunderland finishes 4th, 11’35 behind Brabec.

Walkner took second place on the day’s stage, but his day ended clouded by worry due to an injury he sustained at the very end of the special.

“My ankle feels quite hurt. Fifty kilometres before the end I did a big jump and landed heavily. First I was thinking, ok, maybe it’s broken. It’s really painful now, but we will see how it is tomorrow and I’m going to put some ice on it. It was ok in the end [for the marathon stage], because I didn’t crash and the bike is running well, plus we are like a big group and a team and we help each other, so everything is good”.-- Matthias Walkner

Classifications at Stage 4

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• January 9, 2019: Stage 3

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 3 Summary

Yamaha's Xavier de Soultrait has just claimed his first Dakar stage win by a wafer-thin margin of 15 seconds over Pablo Quintanilla. The overall lead, however, will go to the Chilean rider this evening.

Xavier de Soultrait wins Stage 3 at the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by Antonin Vincent

Joan Barreda has decided to call it quits after failing to get his motorbike out of the basin where it was stuck. The Spaniard was touted as a favourite to win the rally and started today's stage in the lead, but his ninth Dakar has now come to a premature end in a crushing blow for Honda. 

"I'm very disappointed. I got off to a great start, feeling strong, attacking and catching up with the riders in front of me. I got to a summit where it was really foggy. There was no visibility and I went down the wrong descent. It was extremely slippery, it was impossible for me to get back up. I looked for a solution at the bottom, but I didn't find any. There was no way out."-- Joan Barreda

Kevin Benavides limited the damage on the road to Arequipa to finish third in the stage, 2′37″ behind the winner. Joan Barreda's withdrawal and Ricky Brabec's disastrous outing make the Argentinian Honda's top rider in the general classification, where he trails Quintanilla by 11 minutes.

Classifications at Stage 3

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Dakar Rally 2019 LIVE UPDATE:
STAGE 3: 331 KM to Arequipa: Xavier de Soultrait 6mins out in front and in charge mode. Bikes started with 3 min time gaps.

Just as he predicted, Matthias Walkner struggled and got lost by WP1. Ricky Brabec was the fastest to that point and then followed Joan Barreda, gaining 9 seconds so, physically 2min, 51 secs behind and likely following his track through WP2.

By WP3 Both Walkner, Barreda and Brabec got displaced, (slightly lost) but not badly, only shedding 2 and 3 mins respectively to De Soultrait and Pablo Quintanilla. Now through WP5 both Walkner and Brabec have lost 29 and 26 mins respectively, falling to 11th and 12th on the day. American Andrew Short currently 8th on the day at WP5.

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• January 8, 2019: Stage 2

Matthias Walkner has won the second stage by grabbing victory from the hands of Ricky Brabec in the last kilometres of the special, beating the American by 22 seconds after having ridden the entire special in the Honda rider’s wake. The title holder has thus sent out a strong message to his rivals. Joan Barreda keeps the lead in the general standings thanks to his third-placed...

Matthias Walkner: “That was a long and really, really fast stage. It was hard to judge the pace of the riders in front, so early on I decided to push and give my best. It was enough to set the fastest time, which is great but I’m not too keen on stages like that – two or three in a year is enough for me. Crossing the tracks left by the cars on such a tricky stage can be quite daunting sometimes and I’m glad to reach the finish safely.”

KTM Factory Team's Matthias Walkner wins Stage 2 at the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by ASO/A. Vincent/ DPPI

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 2 Summary

Classifications at Stage 2

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• January 7, 2019: Stage 1

WATCH the Bike/Quad Stage 1 Summary 

Joan Barreda set the stopwatches buzzing on the opening stage of the Dakar by putting a significant distance for such a short stage (84 km) between himself and his closest pursuer Pablo Quintanilla: 1’34’’. It brought him the 23rd victory in his career on the rally, while Argentinean Nicolás Cavigliasso opened up an even bigger gap, of almost 4 minutes, over his countryman Jeremías González Ferioli.

Joan Barreda takes the first stage win at the 2019 Dakar Rally. Photo by Justin W. Coffey

In the car category, Nasser Al Attiyah began with a win, like last year, on the special between Lima and Pisco, bringing his roll of honour to 32 stage victories and leaving him behind only Ari Vatanen (with 50) and Stéphane Peterhansel (41).The Qatari driver will start the second stage with a lead of 1’59’’ over Carlos Sainz.

In the SxS race, the title holder reminded the newcomers just who the boss of the category is, with the stage victory going to Reinaldo Varela in front of Chaleco López. The situation was similar in the truck race, with the stage won by Eduard Nikolaev in his Kamaz, but only 18 seconds ahead of Dutchman Ton Van Genugten.

Classifications at Stage 1

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• Lima, January 6, 2019

The Heavyweights Step Into the Ring

Key points:

• 541 competitors and 334 vehicles —137 motorbikes, 26 quads, 130 cars (including 30 SxS) and 41 trucks— were cleared to start the 41st edition of the Dakar at the end of the technical and administrative scrutineering.

• Before the start of the race, the drivers, riders and crews will get a big send-off from the fans during the podium ceremony in Lima. The celebration will take place on Magdalena beach, where over 100,000 visitors flocked to enjoy a wide range of activities in the Feria Dakar over the last three days.

• The first round comes tomorrow with a sand-packed 84 km course in the Pisco region. Let the dune festival begin!

90 HONGYI Zhao (chn), Motorbike, during the Dakar 2019 Podium Start in Lima, Peru

Contenders for the Dakar titles have spent months focusing on their objective. However, the last few days before the race have been the ideal time to sit back and relax… or even go on holiday! Stéphane Peterhansel, for example, took the opportunity to go on a romantic break in Machu Picchu with his wife, Andrea, who will be racing in a Side by Side (SxS) in her Dakar comeback. Nasser Al-Attiyah, on the other hand, embarked on a gastronomic adventure and even learned to make ceviche with one of the most famous chefs in Lima. Sébastien Loeb, always looking for a shot of adrenaline, capped his training with a challenge at the wheel of his Peugeot 3008… going head-to-head with an aeroplane. Yet the time has come for everyone to get down to business. The anticipated duel between Mini and Toyota, with the nine-time world rally champion and his Peugeot trying to fish in troubled waters, was the talk of the town on Las Palmas Air Base. For now, the protagonists are content to reject the pressure that comes with being favourite. "In terms of reliability, we could have done with more time to fine-tune some little pieces. We're talking details here, but it could have an impact", says "Peter" about his buggy, while Nasser Al-Attiyah, widely acclaimed as the best dune surfer in the world, tries to play down expectations by stressing that "we need to be really focused and not lose any time with the navigation".

42 GERINI Maurizio (ita), puts on a show for spectators at the Dakar 2019 Podium Start.

The favourites to win the motorbike race are also hedging their bets. Especially Toby Price, who still feels "a little bit of pain" after breaking his right scaphoid while training a few weeks ago. The Australian winner of the 2016 race is far from the only card KTM has to play in its effort to extend its dominance in the rally, with Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner feeling as strong as when they claimed the last two editions. However, they are acutely aware of the threat from Yamaha's blue motorbikes, whose leader Adrien Van Beveren is widely seen as KTM's main rival. "I see it as something positive", says the French rider. "This is what I've been working for, to try and win. If people think I have what it takes, it means I'm right where I want to be." His impeccable logic brings hope to the Yamaha clan, which is also fielding riders such as Xavier de Soultrait and Franco Caimi. The duel starts tomorrow! Dakar.com

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• Lima, January 5, 2019

The Calm Before the Storm

Key points:

• The big favourites - KTM and Honda bikers, Mini and Toyota drivers and Kamaz truckers - are scheduled to go through administrative and technical scrutineering tomorrow, but their rivals already faced the microphones and cameras today. Honda, with Joan Barreda and Kevin Benavides, and Gerard de Rooy, who is back behind the wheel of his Iveco, are itching to take the fight to them. Robby Gordon, another serious outsider, will go through scrutineering tomorrow after an ill-timed setback.

• The majority of the SxS favourites went through the procedure today, including American whiz kid Casey Currie, who will fight for a top place against illustrious veterans of the quad and motorbike categories who have switched classes this year.

The contenders have entered the stage. There are just two days left until the start of the rally and the outsiders of the 41st edition of the Dakar are making no secret of their burning ambitions. In a sports competition there are always fewer prizes than competitors, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the resolve of all the participants who are here to start a revolution! Gerard de Rooy - back after sitting out last year's edition - and his lieutenants are among the rebels in the truck category. The Dutchman remains the only driver to beat Kamaz ever since the rally moved to South America and is outspoken about his ambition to repeat the exploit. "I love sand and dunes, it's what I like best and winning is our only objective. I don't mind what crew it is, I just want to see one of our green trucks at the top", he says enthusiastically after returning to Peru hungry for more titles, no doubt remembering how he took his first victory precisely in Lima, in 2012. Meanwhile, on the Russian front, defending champion Eduard Nikolayev elegantly assumes his favourite status in what