Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland made history by becoming the first British competitor to win the prestigious Dakar Rally, and he added to history in another way by giving KTM its 16th consecutive win in the two-week-long event that ran through Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina in South America.
Sunderland crossed the finish line in the last of the rally’s 12 stages in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Saturday, claiming sixth place for the stage, more than enough to land the win in the world’s most prestigious off-road rally, an even that he had never even finished before this one. Sunderland’s winning time for the two-week-long, 10,000-kilometer rally was 32 hours, 6 minutes and 22 seconds, with his final margin of victory coming in at 32 minutes over his Red Bull KTM teammate, Matthias Walkner. Spain’s Gerard Farres made it an all-KTM podium by riding his Himoinsa Team KTM to third place overall, 35 minutes and 40 seconds off the lead.
“Unbelievable, unbelievable…” Sunderland said. “When I crossed the line I felt all the emotion hit me. Now I’m okay, but it’s a really overwhelming feeling. The weight on my shoulders of the race over the last week, leading the rally, has been really heavy. To finish here is incredible. It’s the first Dakar I’ve ever finished, and to finish first is an incredible feeling. I’m really lost for words. I’m so grateful to everybody – to the team, to the organizers, to all the people around me because it’s not an individual effort. Everybody that’s here has a part in this victory. I’m so grateful and I’m really happy. It’s been difficult, especially in some of the moments with navigation mistakes or when things get stressful, to stay calm. It’s been really the most difficult thing to do, but we’re here, we did it, and I couldn’t be any happier. It’s incredible to be the first Englishman. Hopefully we can create some English interest now, because so far they’ve not been reporting much, but I hope we can change that.”
“It’s really cool after what happened last year, because I had a bad injury and I needed half a year to get back on the bike and believe I could make it onto the podium,” Walkner said. “I knew there was a lot in the game. I was a bit tense, but once in the special, it got quite fun. I hope it’s just the start, but it might also be an accomplishment because it’s already great.”
Third place was Farres’ best career finish in 10 years of contesting the Dakar Rally.
“I’ve been taking part in this Dakar for 10 years,” Farres said. “Among other things, I was the water carrier for Chaleco López and Marc Coma, and now I’m here. We’re a private team, and we don’t have the same resources and engines as the official team, but we’ve got the passion. And now we got a podium spot at the Dakar. It’s magical.”
Yamalube Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren won the final stage with a time of 30 minutes and 29 seconds, but that was not enough to overtake Farres in the final overall standings, and the Frenchman had to settle for a still-fine fourth place overall.
“It was a very special Dakar and I’m happy I’ve reached the finish line,” Van Beveren said. “The emotions and satisfaction you get when you reach the end is beyond words. I gave my all today to reduce the gap to third, but the special was too short to make any difference. Since the start of the event we showed we’re capable to battle for the top, and that’s a big success for all the team. We proved we have a very competitive and ultra-reliable bike that is able to win stages. As for me, I can honestly say everything went according to plan. I did my own race, attacking when I wanted to and staying fast and consistent from start to end. This was just my second Dakar, and I already feel I know so much more. My goal entering this race was to gain experience, and I’m more than satisfied with the things I’ve learned. I won’t lie, saying that a podium wouldn’t have felt better, but we take the positives out of this adventure and keep on working as hard as ever. We’ve taken huge step forward this year and we’re looking forward to the future.”
AVB’s result was probably less heart-breaking than Monster Energy Honda rider Joan Barreda’s fifth overall. The Spanish speedster will once again be left to ponder his bad luck in the Dakar as he finished 43 minutes and 8 seconds out of the lead after incurring a 1-hour time penalty for a refueling error made by his team in Stage 4. Without it, he would have won the event. Instead, he will once again have to be content with earning the most stage wins of the 2017 Dakar Rally, a total of five.
“The end of the rally has arrived and the sensation that you’ve spent the whole year working towards this race,” Here, I did everything that I could, but we were unable to reach the goal. But from the inside the feeling is a good one. I feel calm because I’ve given it my best shot and have done the best that I possibly could. Over the whole year I’ve worked really hard, and that shows. Last year we made some changes to get to the Dakar even stronger, and these have been very positive: We have developed a really magnificent bike which hasn’t given the slightest problem throughout the race, and the team has worked really well together. Ricky [Brabec] has taken a giant leap forward; Mika [Metge] was always very close, and Paulo [Goncalves] was always in the top positions. We have a really strong team, and we have to be pleased about that.”
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