After yesterday’s prologue, Martim Ventura was eager to finally settle into a full day of racing aboard his Honda CRF450RX RALLY and he quickly showed why. Competing on another loop from the Yanbu start camp, the Portuguese rider spent much of the stage as the fastest Rally2 competitor.
The 305 km special stage, heavily affected by recent rain, demanded a careful balance of speed and precision. Fast sandy sections early on gradually gave way to slower, technical rocky tracks, forcing riders to stay fully focused while maintaining enough pace to remain in touch with the front runners.
Ventura looked on course for his maiden Dakar Rally stage victory, flying through the course and holding a 47-second advantage at the 215 km mark. However, the demanding final kilometres took their toll and he ultimately slipped back, finishing just 1’28” behind stage winner Michael Docherty. Despite narrowly missing out on the win, it was a strong performance from Ventura, who will now look to keep Docherty firmly within reach in the overall standings.
Preston Campbell also made a positive step forward on his first full Dakar stage. Enjoying the variety of terrain, the American delivered a solid ride to claim seventh place. Although he is ten minutes off the overall lead, Campbell will be aiming to steadily reduce that gap as the rally progresses.
The Dakar Rally now moves on to AlUla, with the riders heading toward the UNESCO World Heritage Site via a 400 km timed route. The mountainous terrain will provide another demanding test and valuable experience for both riders as the event continues.
Ruben Faria : « Preston started with a good rhythm, but in the last part he lost a little bit of time to finish in seventh. For his first Dakar and the first real stage it wasn’t too bad a result. I believe tomorrow he can do better. Martim was not a surprise for us because we know he has a good pace, the bike is performing well, he likes it a lot and he finished in a good position. He was in the lead at quite a few waypoints and then lost out near the end. It was a really good result for him and although he didn’t finish first, it keeps the pressure off him a bit at his first Dakar. Overall it was a good day for the team. »
Martim Ventura #84 – Stage: 2nd Overall: 2nd : « If one year, or even six months ago, you would have told me that I would be at my first Dakar Rally, with this team and at the first stage, I wouldn’t believe it. I worked for it, the team have helped me so much, the bike is comfortable and I’m super happy. When you ride happy you do well. Sometimes you put pressure on yourself, but this stage was good. I didn’t want to worry about rankings, because I know if I do my race, things will show up with time. »
Preston Campbell #85 – Stage: 7th Overall: 7th : « The stage was good it, was a good mix of fast and rocky areas. It was a good first stage to finish at my first Dakar. It’s a long two weeks and I’m looking forward to the rest of the race. »
Rally2 Result – Stage 1
1. Docherty Michael (RSA) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, 03:25:09
2. Ventura Martim (POR) – Honda HRC, + 01:28
3. Dabrowski Konrad (POL) – Duust Rally Team, + 03:49
4. Ebster Tobias (AUT) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 04:28
5. Doveze Mathieu (FRA) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 06:43
6. Mulec Toni (SLO) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 07:49
7. Campbell Preston (USA) Honda HRC, + 09:41
8. Drdaj Dusan (CZE) – Cajdasrot, + 15:12
9. Karka Dovydas (LTU) – HT Rally Raid, + 15:27
10. Gyenes Emanuel (ROU) – Autonet Motorcycle Team, + 16:24…
Rally2 Provisional Standings After Stage 1
1. Docherty Michael (RSA) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, 03:36:59
2. Ventura Martim (POR) – Honda HRC, + 02:14
3. Dabrowski Konrad (POL) – Duust Rally Team, + 04:15
4. Ebster Tobias (AUT) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 04:54
5. Doveze Mathieu (FRA) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 07:34
6. Mulec Toni (SLO) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 08:38
7.Campbell Preston (USA) – Honda HRC, + 10:11
8. Drdaj Dusan (CZE) – Cajdasrot, + 15:53
9. Karka Dovydas (LTU) – HT Rally Raid, + 16:49
10. Gyenes Emanuel (ROU) – Autonet Motorcycle Team, + 16:57…