The twists and turns of the ninety-fourth FIM ISDE continued on what proved to be a wet, windy and at times blustery fourth day of competition in Portimao. The beaten trails of the technically demanding two hundred and 260 km Monchique Route pushed the 500+ participants from 26 nations to their limits.

Moving another step closer to securing their second FIM World Trophy victory, the United States edged out their closest rivals and defending champions RecoveR8 Team Australia for victory on day four. Despite the best efforts of Australian Daniel Sanders – Husqvarna who secured his fourth consecutive outright win, collectively the United States proved too strong. Taylor Robert – KTM, Steward Baylor – KTM and Kailub Russell – KTM all finished inside the top seven, extending their lead to one minute and twenty-seven seconds.

Daniel Sanders

” I had one crash in test three and other than that I had no problems, it was another great day for me extending my outright lead. The World Trophy is still within our grasp and we ned a flawless final two days to make it happen!”

Behind the top two, Italy maintain their position of third overall with the third fastest time on the day. Extending their advantage over Spain in fourth, they now hold a sizeable seven-minute lead over the Spaniards. However, while both Italy and Spain are now down to three riders, Finland and France – in fifth and sixth respectively – have all riders intact and are ready to capitalise on any further errors from the teams ahead of them.

2019 ISDE Day 4 World Trophy Classification Overall

1. USA
2. Australia +1min27.46s
3. Italy +8min41.13s
4. Spain +15min16.91s
5. Finland +16min00.07s
6. France +20min35.86s
7. Germany +32min00.60s
8. Sweden +32min21.82s
9. Portugal +39min12.61s
10. Belgium +54min20.31s

2019 ISDE Day 4 Junior World Trophy

RecoveR8 Team Australia put in a definitive charge on day four to cement their position at the head of the FIM Junior World Trophy category. Untouchable today, they claimed a commanding four-minute victory over Italy. That result moves them close to a nine-minute advantage over the United States, who sit in second position, with only two days of competition remaining.

Lyndon Snodgrass

” I had a great day, ending up inside the top ten outright. The other members of the team also rode great and we extended our lead in the Junior Trophy. The tracks were brutal today to say the least so it was good to get through and have a sold result”.

Gaining time on the United States, Italy’s second place on day four closes the gap to two minutes and thirty seconds. Spain drop further behind the leading trio, sitting almost fourteen minutes behind Italy in fourth. Host nation Portugal delivered another consistent showing to move inside the top-five – capitalising on the exit of Great Britain.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Junior World Trophy Classification

1. Australia
2. USA +8min52.50s
3. Italy +11min20.66s
4. Spain +23min53.55s
5. Portugal +62min42.13s
6. Chile +70min48.26s
7. Belgium +71min07.21s
8. Canada +99min32.44s
9. France +134min06.02s
10. GB +140min23.03s

Women’s

Day four delivered a true shakeup in the FIM Women’s World Trophy class, which saw RecoveR8 Team Australia’s hopes of a coveted seventh consecutive victory come to an end.

Following yesterday’s exit of Makenzie Tricker – KTM, today team leader Tayla Jones – Husqvarna crashed hard and was forced to withdraw. The outcome sees the United States move clear of closest challengers Great Britain by a sizeable thirteen minutes and eight seconds.

Great Britain – in what is their debut FIM ISDE – are on course to claim a memorable result. Sitting second overall, they head Germany in third by just over three minutes.

Second fastest on day four, Germany will be motivated to bridge that gap to Great Britain and have two more days of racing to do so. Three minutes behind Germany in fourth, Spain are not out of the running for a podium result either, while Sweden complete the top-five.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Women’s World Trophy Classification

1. USA
2. Germany +5min14s
3. GB +13min08.94s
4. Spain +19min09.51s
5. Sweden +29min04.12s
6. Portugal +46min10.80s
7. Canada +51min00-.23s
8. Australia +115min42.11s

Enduro 1

Spain’s Josep Garcia – KTM produced another dominant display of riding in Enduro 1 to claim his fourth win of the week. Sweeping all seven special tests, he also ended his day as outright second fastest rider to Sanders. He tops the category by over five minutes from the United States’ Ryan Sipes – KTM, with Italy’s Andrea Verona – TM in third and leading Junior.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Enduro 1 Individual Classification Overall

1. Josep Garcia KTM Spain
2. Ryan Sipes KTM USA
3. Andrea Verona TM Italy
4. Lyndon Snodgrass KTM Australia
5. Luke Styke Yamaha Australia
6. Eero Remes Yamaha Finland
7. Thomas Oldrati Honda Italy
8. Roni Kytonen Husqvarna Finland
9. Antoine Basset Husqvarna France
10. Sergio Navarro Husqvarna Spain

Enduro 2

Taylor Robert was again quickest in Enduro 2. Robert continues to prove himself as the rider to beat and now moves further clear of fellow countryman Kailub Russell in second.

Italy’s Davide Guarneri – Honda completes the top three, with Australian’s Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna and Josh Green – Yamaha fourth and fifth overall respectively.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Enduro 2 Individual Classification Overall

1. Taylor Robert KTM USA
2. Kailub Russell KTM USA
3. Davide Guarnoni Honda Italy
4. Fraser Higlett Husqvarna Australia
5. Joshua Green Yamaha Australia
6. Grant Baylor KTM USA
7. Antoine Magain KTM Belgium
8. Michael Driscoll Yamaha Australia
9. Ben Kelley KTM USA
10. Erik Willems Husqvarna Belgium

Enduro 3

As now expected, Daniel Sanders showed his rivals the way to go for the fourth day running. Untouchable, taking seven test wins from seven, he puts himself six minutes and twenty-five seconds clear of Great Britain’s Danny McCanney – TM.

Delivering his best result of the week, Steward Baylor moves up to third overall — passing Italy’s Rudi Moroni – KTM — thanks to the third fastest time on the day.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Enduro 3 Individual Classification Overall

1. Daniel Sanders Husqvarna Australia
2. Daniel McCanney TM GBR
3. Steward Baylor KTM USA
4. Rudy Moroni KTM Italy
5. Angus Heidecke KTM DEU
6. Anthony Geslin Beta France
7. David Abgrall Beta France
8. Matteo Pavoni Beta Italy
9. Oskar Ljungstrom Husqvarna Sweden
10. Jed Etchells Sherco GBR

Women’s

The Enduro Women’s class witnessed some of the day’s biggest developments with the exit of Tayla Jones and Germany’s Maria Franke – KTM taking over the race lead from United States’ Brandy Richards – KTM. Franke was on flying form, topping five of the day’s seven tests to win over Jane Daniels, while overall leader Brandy Richards – KTM had a difficult day in third.

Franke now leads the classification by one minute and twenty-six seconds from Richards, with Daniels close behind in third. Jessica Gardiner – Yamaha is the sole remaining Australian in fourth with Spain’s Mireia Badia – Husqvarna fifth.

2019 ISDE Day 4 Women’s Individual Classification Overall

1. Maria Franke KTM DEU
2. Brandy Richards KTM USA
3. Jane Daniels Husqvarna GBR
4. Jessica Gardiner Yamaha Australia
5. Mireia Badia Husqvarna Spain
6. Rebecca Sheets KTM USA
7. Shelby Turner KTM Canada
8. Tarah Gieger Honda USA
9. Sandra Gomez Husqvarna Spain
10. Rosie Rowett Husqvarna GBR

FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy

Day four of the FIM ISDE also saw the FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy competition get underway in earnest. Led by Mario Rinaldi – KTM, Italy swept the top four positions. Rinaldi beat Maurizio Casartelli – Puch by thirteen seconds, with Giovanni Sala – KTM just six tenths behind in third. Stefano Passeri placed fourth and France’s Philippe Barthomeuf completed the top-five.

What’s next..

Day five, the penultimate day of the FIM ISDE, sees competitors tackle a new course. Crossing the Barocal, which takes place to the south west of the Algarve region and will be characterised by gravel and rocks and will feature two hundred and eighty-five kilometres of riding.

Source: MCNews.com.au

With day three marking the halfway point in this year’s race, the 500 competitors from twenty-six nations embarked on a new course known as the Monchique Route. Taking them deep into southern Portugal’s highest mountain range, added rain, missing track marking and stray fencing wire in the course ensured demanding conditions and a testing day for all.

The United States came strong on day three as they sought to find a weakness in RecoveR8 Team Australia. After three special tests, they were pressuring their Australian rivals with three riders making up the top-four overall positions.

However, at the end of the seventh and final test Australian Daniel Sanders, despite being pulled from his bike at one stage after being grabbed by wire on the course, had fought his way back to the top to win the day overall to again be the fastest rider in ISDE 2019.

Daniel Sanders

“Unfortunately I got caught up in the opening test with some fencing and also a fall, so I lost a little bit of time there. But after that I found good speed and came back to win the day. I think the conditions being so smooth didn’t really suit us today, but tomorrow we are back out on the same tests and they will be rougher so hopefully that plays into our skillset more and we can get some time back from the USA”.

But with strength in numbers, the United States’ Taylor Robert, Kailub Russell and Ryan Sipes all slotted inside the top-six to lead as a team by 1min12s.

Kailub Russell – USA

“The weather has been a bit crazy – it wasn’t quite raining hard, but still made things slippery. It’s been hard to hit the lines you want on the tests. But as a team we’ve come good today. We’ve come strong at the right time and with all of us having solid results it’s put us into the overall lead. We’ll sleep well tonight and fight again tomorrow.”

Behind the top two there was no change in third position with Italy holding strong. While they have extended their lead over Finland in fourth, they slip to seven minutes behind the USA.

Previously sitting fourth, Great Britain’s hopes of a podium result ended on day three with Joe Wootton exiting the race. Finland moved up to fourth with France fifth and Germany sixth. Host nation Portugal are now eighth, with seventh-placed Sweden in their sights.

2019 ISDE Day Three World Trophy Classification Overall

1. USA
2. Australia +1min12.41s
3. Italy +7min00.40s
4. Finland +11min09.15s
5. France +15min40.33s
6. Germany +23min05.85s
7. Sweden +23min235.00s
8. Portugal +27min05.71s
9. Belgium +37min25.21s
10. Spain +43min43.96s

2019 ISDE Day 3 Junior World Trophy

While RecoveR8 Team Australia did not have the best day at the office in the FIM World Trophy category, it also was not the best day for their FIM Junior World Trophy team-mates.

Although still holding onto the provisional class lead, Australia lost nearly two minutes to the United States who took a confidence-boosting victory on day three. Team USA now look to close the 1min20s deficit to their rivals.

France upped their pace in the difficult conditions to place second on the day, closing in on Italy who hold third overall. With eighteen seconds separating the duo, it is all to play for regards a place on the podium.

Great Britain are fifth, while Spain are clear of Portugal in sixth.

2019 ISDE Day 3 Junior World Trophy Classification

1. Australia
2. USA +1min20.92s
3. Italy +4min12.45s
4. France +4min30.72s
5. GB +10min59.70s
6. Spain +13min52.43s
7. Portugal +40min56.31s
8. Belgium +46min38.29s
9. Chile +50min25.21s
10. Canada +66min02.21s

Women’s

The FIM Women’s World Trophy saw the leader-board change drastically behind leaders the United States. Closest rivals Germany endured a difficult day dropping from second to fifth in the standings.

RecoveR8 Team Australia took victory on day three by seven-seconds over the United States, moving them up to second overall. However, losing team member Mackenzie Tricker due to illness means any further issues for the defending champions could prove disastrous.

Great Britain keep a chasing Spain at bay, but now find themselves in medal contention with third. Sweden complete the top-six.

Tayla Jones – Australia

“I’ve been trying to tough out a finger injury for the last few days,” explained Australian Tayla Jones – Husqvarna. “I’m glad to be on the hard-packed special tests today. We’ve done well today in the results, but losing Makenzie makes things tricky. All is not lost yet, but we can’t afford any more problems from here on out.”

2019 ISDE Day 3 Women’s World Trophy Classification

1. USA
2. Australia +1min07.21s
3. GB +10min34.02s
4. Spain +13min49.44s
5. Germany +15min30.43s

Enduro 1

After a troubled opening test where wire cost him to lose almost a minute, Enduro 1 category leader Josep Garcia – KTM of Spain showed his class by charging back to secure his third victory of the week.

The win sees Garcia extend his lead to nearly three-minutes over Ryan Sipes. The Spaniard is protesting his time lost while caught up in the wire on course. 

Italian Junior Andrea Verona – TM continues to impress. Third on day three, he sits just ten seconds behind Sipes in the standings.

Australian Luke Styke – Yamaha is fourth, with his Junior team-mate Lyndon Snodgrass – KTM fifth.

2019 ISDE Day 3 Enduro 1 Individual Classification Overall

1. Josep Garcia KTM Spain
2. Ryan Sipes KTM USA 
3. Andrea Verona TM Italy
4. Luke Styke Yamaha Australia
5. Lyndon Snodgrass KTM Australia
6. Eero Remes Yamaha Finland
7. Theo Espienasse Sherco France
8. Matteo Cavallo Sherco Italy
9. Thomas Oldrati Honda Italy
10. Roni Kytonen Husqvarna Finland

Enduro 2

Delivering a winning ride on day three, Taylor Robert controls the proceedings in the Enduro 2 class. Battling hard with teammate Russell, Robert holds a thirty-seven second cushion over his countryman.

Italy’s Davide Guarneri – Honda remains third, while Australian Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna is top Junior in fourth, followed by the United States’ Junior Ben Kelley – KTM in fifth.

2019 ISDE Day 3 Enduro 2 Individual Classification Overall

1. Taylor Robert KTM USA
2. Kailub Russell KTM USA
3. Davide Guarnoni Honda Italy
4. Fraser Higlett Husqvarna Australia
5. Ben Kelley KTM USA
6. Josh Green Yamaha Australia
7. Grant Baylor KTM USA
8. Antoine Magain KTM Belgium
9. Erik Willems Husqvarna Belgium
10. Eemil Pohjola TM Finale

Enduro 3

There was no change in the Enduro 3 class with Daniel Sanders securing his third consecutive win.

Sanders topped the category by forty-eight seconds over Great Britain’s Danny McCanney. Although over five-minutes behind Sanders, McCanney holds second in class, building his advantage over Italy’s Rudi Moroni to 1min7s.

With both the United States’ Steward Baylor – KTM and Great Britain’s Alex Snow – Gas Gas close behind Moroni in fourth and fifth respectively, there’s still a lot to be decided in the remaining days.

2019 ISDE Day 3 Enduro 3 Individual Classification Overall

1. Daniel Sanders Husqvarna Australia
2. Daniel McCanney TM GBR
3. Rudy Moroni KTM Italy
4. Steward Baylor KTM USA
5. Alex Snow GasGas GBR
6. Angus Heidecke KTM DEU
7. Anthony Geslin Beta France
8. David Abgrall Beta France
9. Matteo Pavoni Beta Italy
10. Oskar Ljungstrom Husqvarna Sweden

Women’s

While collectively Germany had a day to forget in the FIM Women’s World Trophy class, team leader Maria Franke – KTM enjoyed a winning result in the Enduro Women’s classification.

In what was a fierce battle with United States’ Brandy Richards and Australia’s Tayla Jones, Franke took the win by just four-seconds. That result helps Franke close the gap to overall leader Richards to 17-seconds.

Tayla Jones remains third overall, with Briton Jane Daniels in fourth.

2019 ISDE Day 3 Women’s Individual Classification Overall

1. Brandy Richards KTM USA
2. Maria Franke KTM DEU
3. Tayla Jones Husqvarna Australia
4. Jane Daniels Husqvarna GBR
5. Jessica Gardiner Yamaha Australia

Day four of the FIM ISDE will see competitors battle another loop of the two hundred and sixty-six-kilometre-long Monchique Route.

Source: MCNews.com.au

For the second day of competition the five hundred plus competitors from twenty-six nations retraced the course from the previous day. However, with roughening conditions, it was a battle of attrition for many.

At the head of the FIM World Trophy team it is RecoveR8 Team Australia, fronted by a hard charging Daniel Sanders – Husqvarna, who led the way. With Sanders winning all-but-one of the day’s seven special tests, Australia extend their advantage to fifty seconds over closest rivals United States.

Luke Styke

“We made a few changes halfway through the day and it seemed like they were the right ones as I picked up some pace through the second half of the day. The trails and the tests themselves were getting brutal with two days on the same layout. Overall I’m happy with the day and plan to stay smart and consistent to keep doing my job for the Australian Team.”

Once again proving the closest challenger to the Australians, the United States worked hard to see all four of their riders finish inside the top-fifteen overall on day two. While the gap between the leading two nations remains relatively close, the two nations have pulled notably clear of the competition in Portimao.

Italy remain in third, but are now over five minutes off the lead.

Davide Guarneri – Team Italy

“Australia and United States are incredibly fast. They are setting the pace for sure. We are looking forward to what tomorrow will bring and will try to close the gap. But at the moment we need them to make a mistake, which hasn’t happened yet!”

Great Britain end day two forty seconds behind Italy in fourth, but extend their advantage over fifth-placed Finland to one-minute and thirty seconds.

Spain complete the top-six thanks to the strong efforts of Josep Garcia – KTM. Currently second outright to Sanders and leading the Enduro 1 category he is enjoying his FIM ISDE return.

Josep Garcia – Spain

“It’s been a really good start to the FIM ISDE. I’ve finished second outright both days and have extended my lead in the Enduro 1 category. Daniel has proved very fast during these two days and is looking strong – for sure he’s the rider to beat. But tomorrow we arrive to a new set of special tests that I feel will work better for me on the smaller bike, so I will fight to close the gap to him.”

2019 ISDE Day Two World Trophy Classification

1. Australia
2. USA +50.43s
3. Italy +5min10.41s
4. GB +5min51.29s
5. Finland +7min22.80s
6. Spain +8min19.69s
7. France +11min23.99s
8. Germany +14min21.21s
9. Sweden +15min45.90s
10. Portugal +18min56.20s

2019 ISDE Day Two Junior World Trophy

Matching their FIM World Trophy team-mates, RecoverR8 Team Australia extend their lead in the FIM Junior World Trophy classification with a winning result. Clearly enjoying the rough and sandy conditions, the Australians are now almost three-and-a-half minutes ahead of the United States in second.

Building speed and positions in this year’s FIM ISDE, defending champions Italy move up to third on day two. Spurred on by the performance of Andrea Verona – TM, they will look to bridge the two-minute gap to the United States on day three.

Losing time on the leaders, France slip to fourth in classification and sit twenty-seven seconds behind Italy. Great Britain round out the top five, but will need to keep a watchful eye on Spain in sixth, who look to improve on favourable conditions for day three.

Fraser Higlett

“It’s great to see some of our Junior Team in the top ten and we have put a lot of time on the other teams. I ended up seventh outright yesterday which was honestly hard to believe for me, but I feel smooth and believe I can keep this up for the rest of the week”.

2019 ISDE Day Two Junior World Trophy Classification

1. Australia
2. USA +3min26.90s
3. Italy +5min24.12s
4. France +5min51.95s
5. GB +9min11.99s
6. Spain +10min23.38s
7. Finland +16min36.44s
8. Belgium +18min33.25s
9. Portugal +27min55.50s
10. Chile +38min14.41s

2019 ISDE Day Two Women’s World Trophy

Proving the team to beat on day two, United States surged to the top of the FIM Women’s World Trophy class. Truly finding their feet in the deep sandy ruts and holes, they now lead the proceedings by one-minute and eight seconds over Germany.

Jessica Gardner

“Day one and two are already in the books, we got all the nerves out of the way yesterday. The track was very rough with two days on the sane layout. I had a great opening test, in the fourth one I had a fall on the last turn and lost a little time. Overall I think I’m riding well and I’m looking forward to some new special tests tomorrow”.

After their winning ride on the opening day, Germany struggled to match the pace of the United States and defending champions RecoveR8 Team Australia. With the Australians racing to second on the day, they move within striking distance of overtaking Germany.

Great Britain remain in fourth with Jane Daniels – Husqvarna delivering the team’s best result of fourth. Spain hold fifth, while Sweden complete the top six.

2019 ISDE Day Two Women’s World Trophy Classification

1. USA
2. Germany +1min08.65s
3. Australia +1min14.37s
4. GB +6min25.72s
5. Spain +9min11.99s

Enduro 1

In the Enduro 1 class, Garcia continued his winning ways of day one. Establishing himself as the rider to beat, the Spaniard won all seven special tests, extending his advantage to a commanding two minutes and twenty-five seconds.

While Garcia remains comfortable out front, the battle for a place inside the top-four is tight. Australian Luke Styke – Yamaha in second holds a four-second lead over the United States’ Ryan Sipes – KTM, who in turn is just eight seconds clear of Andrea Verona in fourth.

2019 ISDE Day Two Enduro 1 Individual Classification Overall

1. Garcia KTM Spain
2. Styke Yamaha Australia
3. Sipes KTM USA
4. Verona TM Italy
5. Snodgrass KTM Australia
6. Remes Yamaha Finland
7. Espinasse  Sherco France
8. Cavallo Sherco Italy
9. Wootton Husqvarna GBR
10. Kytonen Husqvarna Finland

Enduro 2

United States teammates Taylor Robert – KTM and Kailub Russell – KTM lead the way in Enduro 2, with Robert topping the final three special tests to lead Russell by twenty-one seconds.

Behind them, Guarneri gained ground, moving past Australian Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna for third. United States’ Ben Kelley – KTM rounds out the top-five.

2019 ISDE Day Two Enduro 2 Individual Classification Overall

1. Robert KTM USA
2. Russell KTM USA
3. Guarneri Honda Italy
4. Higlett Husqvarna Australia
5. Kelley KTM USA
6. Green Yamaha Australia
7. Baylor KTM USA
8. Driscoll Yamaha Australia
9. Magain KTM Belgium
10. Phillips KTM Australia

Enduro 3

As the leading rider in this year’s FIM ISDE, Daniel Sanders also heads the Enduro 3 category.

Now over four minutes clear of Great Britain’s Danny McCanney – TM in second, Sanders has got plenty of breathing room as they face a new course for day three.

Growing in confidence and speed, McCanney jumped to second position, pushing the United States’ Steward Baylor – KTM back to third.

Italy’s Rudi Moroni – KTM is now fourth, with Great Britain’s Alex Snow – Gas Gas slipping to fifth.

2019 ISDE Day Two Enduro 3 Individual Classification Overall

1. Sanders Husqvarna Australia
2. McCanney TM GBR
3. Baylor KTM USA
4. Moroni KTM Italy
5. Snow GasGas GBR
6. Heidecke KTM DEU
7. Pavoni Beta Italy
8. Geslin Beta France
9. Abgrall Beta France
10. Etchells Sherco GBR

Women’s

In the Enduro Women’s class the battle for victory was played out between United States Brandy Richards – KTM and Germany’s Maria Franke – KTM. Richards bettered her rival by seven seconds to extend her overall lead over Franke to twenty-two seconds.

Behind the leading duo, Australian Tayla Jones – Husqvarna is third, with Jane Daniels twenty-nine seconds behind in fourth, while Jones’ team-mate Jessica Gardiner – Yamaha completed the top six.

2019 ISDE Day Two Women’s Individual Classification Overall

1. Richards KTM USA
2. Franke KTM DEU
3. Jones Husqvarna Australia
4. Daniels Husqvarna GBR
5. Gardiner Yamaha Australia
6. Sheets KTM USA
7. Badia Husqvanra Spain
8. Turner KTM Canada
9. Borchers Husqvarna DEU
10. Gieger Honda USA

The FIM ISDE continues on day three with competitors facing a new course and set of special stages on the Monchique Challenge route with a total distance of two-hundred and sixty-six kilometres to be covered. The FIM Vintage Trophy also gets underway with an initial acceleration test.

* Compiled using provisional results which remain subject to final approval of the Race Direction.

Source: MCNews.com.au

Toby Price finished Rally du Maroc strongly with stage five victory but ultimately having to open the road on the penultimate day essentially cost the Australia his chance of victory.

This year a new style road book that riders often only received minutes before the start of each stage meant that the Rally du Maroc once again lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest events on the cross-country rallies calendar. A confusing road book on stage four cost Price too much time when he led the field away in stage four, and by the time he had worked the route out his competitors had closed on him from behind and could then simply follow his lead. 

Price was fifth overall coming in to the final day of the rally with eight-minutes to make up on the leaders. The Australian was the 15th rider to enter the stage and although the start position would often prove to be an advantage, Toby would still have to catch and pass several riders ahead in order to make up time. Pushing hard, right from the start, he gained on the leaders with every kilometre.

Unfortunately, a small crash resulted in the reigning Dakar Champion losing too many seconds and despite pushing on for the rest of the stage to ultimately top the day’s standings, he was unable to make up enough time to take the event win. Fourth overall and the highest finishing KTM, Price now looks ahead to the 2020 Dakar Rally and the defence of his title.

Toby Price

“It hasn’t been a bad rally for me, I only just missed out on the podium, which is frustrating, but it’s been really good training. I knew I had to push really hard on that last stage and was making up good time but then had a small crash and gave myself a bit of a stiff neck. I missed out on the podium by just seven seconds but all-in-all I’m pleased with how I rode. Navigation was really tricky here and we had to learn to ride with the minimum of information. I’m hoping that will put us in a good position for January and the Dakar Rally.”

At the top of the standings it was a Husqvarna 1-2 led by American Andrew Short over Chilean Pablo Quintanilla. 

Following a strong showing in the race Prologue, Short made the best use of his strengths on the mixed terrain of the Moroccan desert stages, pushing hard when comfortable while maintaining a solid pace on the more technical sections. 

Leading the overall standings going into the final day of racing, Short knew he would still have to attack the 168-kilometre timed special to defend his position from the riders behind. A crash early on in the stage couldn’t slow the American’s progress and despite the added pressure of being one of the first riders on track the Husqvarna FR 450 Rally mounted rider put in another excellent ride to complete the stage in fifth. Coming into the rally with the goal of securing second place in the overall 2019 championship standings, Short not only accomplished that but claimed his first world championship victory and confirmed his place amongst the sport’s very best riders.

Andrew Short

“I can’t believe it – it doesn’t seem real right now. My main goal coming to Morocco was to finish second in the championship, but to take the win feels unreal. I was second at the Silk Way, which was huge for me but there were a few of the top riders missing. Now all the guys are here at this event getting ready for Dakar and to take the win with such stiff competition is amazing. I couldn’t have done it without the support of the team and the opportunity they have given me over the last couple of years.”

Second overall to Short coming into the final day, Pablo Quintanilla was only 28 seconds behind his teammate as they took to the long 456-kilometre stage. Pushing hard and trying his best to make up the small gap, the Chilean star couldn’t quite match the pace of his hard-charging teammate. Ultimately posting the sixth-fastest time on the gruelling stage, less than one-minute behind Andrew, Quintanilla claimed second place in the overall event standings and secured Rockstar Energy Husqvarna their first ever one-two cross-country rallies result.

Despite spending the majority of the 2019 season recovering from the injury he sustained at the 2019 Dakar Rally, Quintanilla immediately demonstrated his incredible pace on his return to competition by winning round three of the series – the Atacama Rally in Chile. Backing up that performance with second place in Morocco just one month later, the two-time Rallies World Champion has shown he is now back at his best and will undoubtedly be aiming to take his Husqvarna FR 450 Rally to his first ever Dakar win next January.

Pablo Quintanilla

“The race was really good for me. I hurt my leg right at the beginning, which slowed my pace a little but after getting used to the new style of road book I found I was able to put in some good times. In the end I finished second, which I am really pleased about as it’s only my second race of the year. It shows the work we have been doing with the team and also preparation with the bike is really paying off. I’m also really happy for Andrew for getting his first win and finishing second in the championship. He has been working so hard to achieve his goal and it’s nice to see a teammate and a friend succeed like this. I’m really motivated for the future now and would just like to thank the whole Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team for all their support. We have two months to go till Dakar and I think we are really strong as a team and I’m looking forward to it – it’s a really important race for all of us.”

Honda’s Joan Barreda rounded out the overall podium after finishing runner-up in the final stage. The Spaniard rode a fine special to post a finish just three-seconds short of the stage winner and concluding the rally on the third step of the rostrum, with a seven-second advantage over fourth place finisher Toby Price. 

Joan Barreda

“Fighting for the podium was something possible, so today I went out to try for it and things went well. It has been a difficult race, very full, with many different types of terrain, some complicated navigation. It has not been bad as preparation for the Dakar, which is the big objective that we have and which we have been preparing for all season. The team has worked hard this season and now there is only the final stretch of preparation before the 2020 Dakar.”

American rider Ricky Brabec set off on the final morning with his sights likewise set on a podium place. However, his starting position for the final special was far less favourable in his bid for third overall place. In spite of this, Ricky clocked up some fine partial times, although not enough to hold on to his third overall position. A ninth place on the stage means the American claimed fifth final place in the general rankings of the rally.

Ricky Brabec

“The day was quite complicated for me as I had to open track for the final 100 kilometres on very fast tracks. I was hoping to finish stronger, but throughout the rally the differences between the riders was very little and every day we were changing positions. Anyway, I am happy to have finished the whole race and to have prepared for the Dakar, where I will arrive with more confidence.”

Kevin Benavides was happy to have made it through to the end of the rally after a fall in the third stage had turned the race into an uphill struggle. The rider battled on despite a right leg injury which had taken a blow in the very same point as a previous injury picked up in Morocco. Ruling out a retirement, the Argentine Monster Energy Honda Team rider managed to make it to the end to wrap up the Rallye du Maroc with a top ten overall finish, which gave him third place in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

Kevin Benavides

“Today I finished seventh on the day and my leg was feeling much better. I’m tenth in the general standings, but third in the world championship, which is better. Taking stock of everything, it has been a very complicated year. In Abu Dhabi I arrived just after an injury and in Abu Dhabi a brake problem affected my race and it didn’t go too well here either. It has been a year to learn a lot without giving up and I will keep looking ahead as soon we have the Dakar 2020.”

Using the race to test their WR450F Rally machines in competition for the final time ahead of next January’s Dakar Rally, Team Yamaha found the 2019 season-ending event in Morocco presented both expected and several unexpected challenges. 

Arriving at the Rally du Maroc with a number of upgrades and improvements made to their WR450F Rally bikes, there was a final opportunity for team riders Adrien Van Beveren, Xavier de Soultrait and Franco Caimi to test their machines, measure their performance, and spend all-important time reading navigational road books while in competition.

Securing a well-deserved final result inside the top 10, Franco Caimi produced the best Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team performance. Returning to the Moroccan event having last year crashed out and sustained a significant leg injury, following months of hard work and preparation the Argentinian once again showed his world class credentials. Well-aware of the events that unfolded 12 months ago, Caimi opted for a cautious approach to the opening days of the event and placed just outside of the top 10 on each of the first two full days of competition. Finishing third on the first half of the marathon stage, Caimi jumped to third overall in the provisional standings. In finishing 18th at the end of the difficult second half of the marathon stage, he then placed 11th on the fifth and final stage to earn ninth overall.

Adrien Van Beveren came into the 2019 Rally du Maroc in high spirits following strong results in both the Morocco Rally and the Silk Way Rally and having spent months working on his physical fitness together with extensive testing of the Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team’s WR450F Rally bike. Frustratingly for Van Beveren a positive end-of-event result went out the window when he was forced to abandon stage three due to sickness. Producing an event best result of fourth on stage two, Adrien re-started the competition to finish an impressive fifth on stage four despite still feeling far from 100 per cent following eight days of illness. In placing 26th on stage five the Frenchman completed the event having shown impressive pace on both the sandy and gravel stages.

Alexandre Kowalski – Team Yamaha

“This has been a very important and very positive event for the Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team. We came to the Rally du Maroc knowing that many months of work had been invested by all the team and the riders, and to see the increase in our bike’s performance and the speed, and confidence of our riders is very pleasing. We still have work to do, in rally there is always something to improve, but this is now fine tuning what is a very good bike. In terms of results we can of course be a little disappointed, but this event is part of our preparations for Dakar, so is a part of something much bigger for us. Our positive steps forward are very encouraging. The riders all did a very good job. For Franco to close his Morocco story and return here after his serious injury last year, to perform so well and carry a lot of confidence forward to Dakar is great. Adrien, considering his sickness, did a great job. With full fitness and no sickness we look forward to what he can achieve at Dakar. And Xavier, steady at the start but strong and confident in navigation, has ended 2019 in a positive way. Also, for the new team with the latest version of our rally bike, it has been an important event. We keep working and focus on improving ahead of Dakar.”

Rally du Maroc 2019 Stage Five Results

1. PRICE Toby AUS KTM 2:13’15
2. BARREDA Joan SPA Honda +2’54
3. BENAVIDES Luciano ARG KTM +3’10
4. WALKNER Matthias AUT KTM +3’31
5. SHORT Andrew USA Husqvarna +5’14
6. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna +6’07
7. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Honda +6’17
8. DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA Yamaha +6’51
9. BRABEC Ricky USA Honda +7’15
10. EVAN BRANCH Ross BWA KTM +7’32

2019 Cross-Country Rallies
Rally du Maroc 2019 Final Overall Standings

1. SHORT Andrew USA Husqvarna 18:03:54
2. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna +1’21
3. BARREDA Joan SPA Honda +2’44
4. PRICE Toby AUS KTM +2’51
5. BRABEC Ricky USA Honda +4’07
6. BENAVIDES Luciano ARG KTM +7’17
7. WALKNER Matthias AUT KTM +7’38
8. EVAN BRANCH Ross BWA KTM +14’20
9. CAIMI Franco ARG Yamaha +20’30
10. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Honda +21’16

Source: MCNews.com.au