Rallye du Maroc Selected driver quotes after stage 2 10.10.2021: Rallye du Maroc Stage 2 Sunday, October 10th 2021 Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory) : 1st and 1st overall “I rode really hard all day and finally I won the stage and take the overall lead. I’m a little bit surprised not to have got cau

Rallye du Maroc
Stage 2
Sunday, October 10th 2021




Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory) : 1st and 1st overall

“I rode really hard all day and finally I won the stage and take the overall lead. I’m a little bit surprised not to have got caught by some of the fast guys behind me like Ross Branch, Sam, Toby…. I was also happy to catch the Hondas because as we saw in Dakar they can open really fast when they are all together. I saw at the refuelling that I was getting close to them and then at around km 300 we were all together.”




Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda) : 11th at 08:43 and 4th overall at 03:01

“Today was hard work opening almost the whole stage together with Ricky. Early on, around kilometre 40, I made a small mistake and maybe lost 4 minutes. But overall I’m pretty happy that I managed to maintain a good rhythm.”




Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) : 7th at 05:48 and 3rd overall at 01:00

“Today we started one two three. Joan opened really fast today. I caught him around kilometre 30 and just tailed him, working together with him. And then just before refuelling Pablo joined us and from there we rode together and I think it was a really good team effort. Hopefully we can carry on like this for the next three days…”




Mason Klein (BAS Dakar KTM) : 1st Rally2 and 1st Rally2 overall

“After yesterday I decided to take it easy because, as a lot of people reminded me, Dakar is the goal. Obviously I want to finish everyday well but to finish good you have to navigate well and that’s what I focused on. If I won today I didn’t do it on purpose!”




Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) : 1st and 1st overall

“A pretty good day. We had one puncture but that’s normal on a day like today and not a big issue. We changed it in one minute. I’m quite happy. We did a good job with the navigation. Tomorrow we will open again and its all good experience for us.”




Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive) : 2nd at 06:01 and 2nd overall at 10:18

“Difficult day for us. Three punctures and no spare left and a problem with second gear which we were worried would get worse.”




Jakub Przygonski (X-Raid Mini Buggy) 3rd at 06:49 and 19th overall at 4h42:24

“Today we had a lot of dust because we were starting at the back and the dunes were really soft and not easy to climb with the rear wheel drive car. In the last 10 kms we had a puncture. For sure we need more miles with the buggy but it is getting more fluid. The track wasn’t easy with some hard navigation but we enjoyed it.”




Erik Van Loon (Toyota Overdrive) : T1+ not classified

“Everything on the car is new, new suspension, new tyres. The suspension is not where it should be yet and we lack top speed because this car is already restricted for the new regulations. In addition we have to open everyday, now the second day in the dunes, so we lose a bit of time to Nasser and Yazeed. What is amazing is we have had no punctures. We are still looking for the limits of the tyres. So far we haven’t found them.”




Cristina Gutierrez (Red Bull Off Road Junior Team) : 1st T3

“Today was a very difficult stage, very long and we need to manage the race. We are of course thinking about the championship so we tried not to take any risks during the stage.”
 


Amine Echiguer : 1st Enduro Cup Afriquia

“Everything good except the last 20 kilometres which was super tricky navigation. But David (Castera) warned us. I had 5 other bikes following me, who were counting on me to find the right way. I felt better today than yesterday which surprised me. I thought I would be more tired.”
 




TOMORROW’S PROGRAMME

Distances (km) : L1: 76 / SS: 340 / L2 : 187 – Total : 603
 




Matthieu Perez photo ODC Charly Lopez