Dakar Rally Stage 3: Matthias Walkner Earns First Career Stage Win

Former FIM Motocross World Champion Matthias Walkner displays the speed and navigation skills to claim his first Dakar Rally stage victory.

Every new Dakar Rally brings with it the chance for improved competition from new or unexpected players. One need only look back at the performances of the late Kurt Caselli in the 2013 Dakar Rally to understand the possibilities.

In 2015, Austrian-born Matthias Walkner has already shown the speed and the necessary navigation skills to be a factor in the Dakar Rally, and he put them on full display today when he picked up his first career stage win in Stage 3 from San Juan to Chilecito.

Walkner, who won the FIM MX3 Motocross World Championship in 2012, got off to a fast start in today’s stage, running in the top three to Checkpoint 2 before before stepping up his pace and leaving the rally’s established stars behind him. He posted a winning time of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds over the 282-kilometer special stage, which was less intense than Stage 2, and featured red earth tracks overlooking steep peaks and plunging down into canyons in a region that is recognized as among the most beautiful in Argentina.

Walkner’s performance solidified his place among the top five overall, and it makes him a definite player for the Rally victory if he can maintain a level of his consistency.

“I’ve won it for the moment, but there are just five riders who arrived, I think,” Walkner said after crossing the finish line but before he knew that he had indeed won the stage. “Marc is coming, Sam is coming, some fast guys are coming, so we will see. The riding was not so bad. I made some little mistakes because it was a little bit dangerous today with many stones and it forced you over the limit, but overall it was quite good. It’s cool, but he went out in front. The important thing in rallying is to navigate well or open the tracks and also be fast. We will see. It’s my first rally and I hope I can enjoy it. After this we can see what the future brings. I’m just doing my best, finding my rhythm and taking it every kilometer by kilometer. I know a little bit about how you have to ride the motorcycle from doing moto-cross, but the different part is the navigation and finding the good way to ride safely, to not make mistakes and go fast.”

Speaking of consistency, Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma put together another signature stage today, coming back after losing 10 minutes yesterday to finish second, only 40 seconds behind Walkner today. Coma’s smooth ride allowed him to pull back 1 minute on rally leader Joan Barreda, who displayed a new level of maturity by finishing third today.

Barreda’s third-place finish consolidated his lead in the overall standings, however, and he still holds a 5-minute, 33-second lead.

“Today was easier than yesterday, but anyway, it was really dangerous because we were on river beds and a lot of stones all day and so many broken up tracks,” Barreda said. “So that was sometimes dangerous and you always need to take care. I felt really good all day opening the track, it was a good feeling. I’m really happy, it’s one day more done. Now we go to Chile, and there will be different stages and a different feeling, so we will see there. The advantage is really small, it’s nothing different. We need to remain focused on our planning, so nothing is different. We’ll continue like this.”

Toby Price finished fourth in Stage 3, the Australian showing that he, too, has been able to put together some impressive performances in the early going. Barreda’s teammate and closest rival in the overall standings, Paulo Goncalves, was fifth, while Alain Duclos put in a fine performance at the end of the stage to put his Sherco in sixth place.

The rest of the French contingent continues to struggle, noted by the 16th and 21st places of the Factory Yamahas ridden by Michael Metge and Olivier Pain. Meanwhile, HRC Honda’s Laia Sanz, the Dakar Rally’s leading lady, enjoyed a noteworthy performance, finishing 17th today.

2015 Dakar Rally
Stage 3
San Juan-Chilecito Argentina
Results: January 6, 2015
1. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/2 hours, 34 minutes, 28 seconds
2. Marc Coma (ESP)-KTM/+00:00:40
3. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Hon/+00:01:53
4. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:02:45
5. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)-Hon/+00:02:49
6. Alain Duclos (FRA)-00:03:11
7. Ruben Faria (PRT)-KTM/+00:03:46
8. Jeremias Israel (CHL)-Hon/+00:04:02
9. Jordi Villadoms (ESP)-KTM/+00:04:36
10. Juan Pedrero (ESP)-Yam/+00:05:21

2015 Dakar Rally Standings (After 3 of 13 stages)
1. Joan Barreda (ESP)-Hon/9 hours, 43 minutes, 5 seconds
2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT)-Hon/+00:05:33
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:10:33
4. Marc Coma (ESP)-KTM/+00:10:50
5. Ruben Faria (PRT)-KTM/+00:12:10
6. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:12:24
7. Jordi Villadoms (ESP)-KTM/+00:14:07
8. Jeremias Israel (CHL)-Hon/+00:18:33
9. Helder Rodrigues (PRT)-Hon/+00:18:34
10. Juan Pedrero (ESP)-Yam/+00:23:32