SANDERS DIGS IN ON ABU DHABI STAGE TWO.
GASGAS FACTORY RACING STAR MAINTAINS TOP-THREE OVERALL POSITION FOLLOWING LONG, TOUGH SECOND DAY.
Putting in a strong ride through the desert, super-fast rally racer Daniel Sanders has completed stage two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – the longest of the race – in third place! The result means the Aussie ace successfully defends his place in the top three overall and trails the rally leader by less than four minutes.
Daniel Sanders:“Day two went ok for me, but not as well as I’d hoped. I found it hard to get into a good rhythm early on – I had a couple more scary calls with some drops as I’m still learning how to read the terrain here in the desert. I had a couple of crashes too – one gave me quite a knock and I ended up in a hole in the dunes. I had to dig the bike out a little and that cost me some time. I got to the refuel and managed to get some food and water into me, recharged and felt a lot better after that. For the second half of the stage, I felt a lot better and managed to find a good pace. The terrain suited me better too, with more tracks and plateaus. I finished third-fastest today, which puts me in a good spot for tomorrow.”
It was a long stage for Sanders today, leaving the bivouac early this morning before facing a stage totaling 470km. With a timed special of 333km the day threw up a few tough challenges including some tricky navigation through the dunes, faster tracks later in the stage that required 100 percent focus, not to mention well over four hours in the saddle, racing against the clock.
Despite a slightly steady start to the special, where Daniel struggled to find his rhythm and speed, the RC 450F rider used his ever-growing experience to ease his pace a little to minimize any major mistakes in the vast area of dunes. A couple of crashes slowed his forward momentum a little but by the halfway point, the Aussie was back on the gas and able to go for it and attack the tracks to the finish.
Third fastest on the day, Sanders holds his provisional third place position in the overall standings. And as his confidence continues to grow, the 27-year-old hopes to maintain his string of strong results right to the finish of the event.
Tuesday’s stage three will see the race reach its halfway stage. Totaling 327km, it will feature a 293km timed special.
Results (provisional): Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021, stage 2
1. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 4:24:34
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 4:26:56
3. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4:27:35
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 2)
1. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 7:52:31
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 7:55:10
3. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 7:56:13
Text/Bild: GasGas