Photo : ASO The 2019 Dakar Rally is over with Toyota beating Red Bull (finally), the big Russian trucks beating everybody (as usual), Toby Price doing Australia proud and some surprises from the small contingent of Americans in the race. Advertisement Cars Car winners Al-Attiyah (driver, right) and Baumel (co-driver, left) Photo : ASO In the car category, Dakar Rally regular Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel took first place in their factory-sponsored Toyota Hilux. They finished the 3,100-odd mile race with a total time of 34 hours, 38 minutes, and 14 seconds. This marked Toyota’s first Dakar victory. Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro Bravo were about 46 minutes behind in second in a Monster Energy-sponsored X-Raid vehicle, followed by Sebastian Loeb and his privateer Peugeot. A Red Bull car doesn’t show up in the final results until fourth place, which is unusual. The worst car finishing time this year was an almost comical 523 hours, 26, 48 seconds. That includes over 300 hours of penalties... we might have to revisit what Spaniards Alex Aguirregavria and Jordi Comallonga did to offend the timekeepers and Dakar gods so completely, because I’m pretty curious. They were driving a basically stock-looking Toyota Land Cruiser. Photo : ASO Advertisement Robby Gordon, driving a Textron Wildcat XX so heavily modified that it was scored as a car instead of an SxS, finished way down in 49th with a total time of over 107 hours, including almost 10 and a half hours in penalties. Interestingly his teammate, 20-year-old Blade Hildebrand, finished in around 75 hours to land in 42nd place. Finishing the Dakar Rally before you’re old enough to drink is pretty damn impressive. Beating big daddy Robby Gordon, in the same kind of car, must have Hildebrand’s stoke pretty strong. Advertisement I wouldn’t bring it up on the ride home though, young blood! Robby might make you walk home from Peru. Textron is a UTV brand formally known as ArcticCat. Gordon has been working with the company for some time, trying to raise its profile against industry Goliaths Polaris and Can-Am. “I don’t know where we are situated against Toyota, Mini and Peugeot,” Gordon said in an interview before this year’s Dakar Rally. Well, we do know Gordon is an incredibly talented driver. But it doesn’t seem like his Textron is quite up to the challenge of catching those bigger cars. Advertisement Trucks Photo : ASO Advertisement Speaking of bigger, the trucks category was won by a Kamaz, which pretty much always happens. Eduard Nikolaev, Evgenii Iakovlev and Vladimir Rybakov got first place with no penalties and a time of 41 hours, one minute, 35 seconds. Perennial rival Gerard de Rooy didn’t put up much of a fight for first in his Iveco. Advertisement Bikes Photo : ASO Advertisement KTM dominated the 2019 Dakar Rally on two wheels, with Australia’s off-road hero Toby Price repping the brand and finishing the race in 33 hours, 57 minutes and 16 seconds with just a one minute, 33 second penalty. “The pain and torture has been worth it,” Price is quoted in a press release. The Dakar tortures everybody in it, but Price had a particularly tough go this year riding on a barely recovered broken wrist. Advertisement Photo : ASO Toby Price is such a cool dude that I’ll just copy and paste his whole statement for you: “It’s very crazy to sit here and say that we won the Dakar rally with no stage victories until today. It’s really crazy. I’m over the moon, I’m so damned stoked. It’s been a long 10 days. Now I’ll just wait and see what damage I’ve done to my wrist. At the end of the day, the pain and torture has been worth it. I thought I would only be able to do two stages and then pull out and that would have been me done, but the support from everyone back home in Australia and then having some things go my way and a bit of luck, it just worked out in the end. It’s been an unreal rally. [On the pain] Pretty much all I can say is that it feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist now. It’s not very comfortable, it’s not very enjoyable, but at the end of the day the victory has paid off. I’ll forget about the pain now, that’s for sure. The win takes away all the pain. For sure, if it wasn’t for this victory it wouldn’t have been as sweet, but at the end of the day I was just happy to make the finishing line. I didn’t think I was even going to be able to do that. I’m not the new boss of the rally, that’s for sure. There are so many guys that can win this race and we had strong competitors like Pablo and Ricky Brabec, Sam Sunderland, Matthias Walkner… everyone is strong. You can never count anybody out. Kevin Benavides did a great job and at the end of the day we all fight to the finish line and it’s been a hard rally. I just don’t like giving up, I don’t like quitting, that’s for sure. That’s about it. I love being out on my bike and I love riding and to be here with all the Dakar family and the KTM team it’s amazing. So, yeah, we’re pumped”. Advertisement Quads Photo : ASO Advertisement Argentinians took first, second and third on quads this year. The young Nico Cavigliasso is relatively new to Dakar but is wasting no time kicking its ass–last year he got second place, this year he finished first in 43 hours, one minute and 54 seconds on a Yamaha YFM700R. Photo : ASO Advertisement Chileans Francisco Lopez Contardo and Alvaro Juan Leon Quintanilla won the rapidly expanding SxS class in a Can-Am in 42 hours, 19 minutes and five seconds. American Casey Currie came in fourth, about two and a half hours behind the winners, also driving a Can-Am. And oh yeah, 2019 was his first Dakar R ally ever!<doc-sep>Toby Price had to weather pain that “feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist” en route to clinching his second Dakar Rally motorcycle title. Australian Toby Price has won his second Dakar Rally motorcycle title, while Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah claiming his third title in the main car category. Price broke the scaphoid bone in his right wrist weeks before the race and thought he would endure two stages then pull out, but support and luck kept him going in Peru. He came to the 10th and last stage after racing almost 5200km with only one minute’s lead over rival Pablo Quintanilla. Then just 10km into the dune-heavy, 112km course from Pisco to Lima, the Chilean rider fell off his bike and injured his foot. After Quintanilla crashed, the 2016 champion went for broke to take the overall lead. “The pain and torture has been worth it,” Price said. “(The pain) feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist. It’s not very comfortable, it’s not very enjoyable. “It’s very crazy to sit here and say that we won the Dakar Rally with no stage victories until today. It’s really crazy. I’m over the moon.” Toby Price (left) celebrates with KTM's Austrian biker Matthias Walkner after winning the Dakar Rally 2019. Picture: AFP It is Price’s second title and he also finished third in 2015 and 2018. With Quintanilla’s chances of winning a maiden Dakar title evaporating instantly, the Chilean got back on his Husqvarna to try and save a podium place. But he lost 19 minutes though and dropped to fourth overall. Spainiard Nani Roma, who won two motorbike titles before switching to four wheels in 2005, was second after a busier-than-usual year of rallying to rebound from crashing out early in the Dakar last year. Sebastien Loeb, who was in title contention until electrical problems on Monday, was third at his fourth Dakar. Toby Price has clinched his second Dakar Rally title. Picture: Getty Images Meanwhile, in the main car category Al-Attiyah could sit back and play it safe thanks to a 51-minute overall lead. He let others race for the stage win, which went to Carlos Sainz, last year’s champion. Al-Attiyah rolled in nine minutes later in his Toyota, and finished 46 minutes ahead of Nani Roma, the 2014 champion. Runner-up to Sainz last year, Al-Attiyah regained the title he earned in 2011 and 2015, when the Qatari also won with French co-driver Mathieu Baumel. “It’s fantastic, no mistakes,” Al-Attiyah said. “The good thing was that from day three we were leading and we built on our time every day until we came to the last day with a big, big lead. We felt that a 100 per cent Peru rally, with no other country, there would be a lot of sand dunes, so we could do what we know we’re good at.” Russian Eduard Nikolaev secured his third successive Dakar title, and fourth in total, in the truck category with Kamaz.<doc-sep>Lima: Australia's Toby Price has finished with his main rivals in the second-last stage of the Dakar Rally to keep the motorbike lead in Peru. In a day of drama, Price was fifth in the 409-kilometre ninth stage as fellow title contender Sam Sunderland was penalised an hour at the start. Competitors ride during stage nine of the Dakar Rally in Peru. Credit:AP When Adrien van Beveren, fifth overall, suffered a broken engine with 16 kilometres to go, it left a clear top three of Price, Pablo Quintanilla and defending champion Matthias Walkner who are all within six minutes of each other. Nobody attacked on the San Juan de Marcona to Pisco stage.<doc-sep>1. Peugeot exit makes Al-Attiyah favourite Second in 2016 with Mini and in 2018 with Toyota, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel have easily been the crew that ran the all-conquering Peugeots closest in the now-concluded era of the French manufacturer's Dakar dominance. Their Toyota Hilux has sometimes outpaced the 3008DKR, and on those stages where the Peugeots were too fast – usually at altitude in Argentina or Bolivia – Al-Attiyah was usually best of the rest. Now the factory Peugeot team is gone, and the altitudes are lower, the Altiplano having made way for the desert where Al-Attiyah is expected to thrive. Logic dictates, then, that the 2019 event is the Qatari's to lose. For the first time in four years, Al-Attiyah is not the reigning FIA cross-country champion heading into the Dakar, as he contested just two rounds of the championship last year, winning both. His second triumph came against formidable opposition including the new Mini buggies in the traditional Dakar rehearsal in October's Rally Morocco. He was also the pace-setter in the Silk Way Rally before an ill-timed rear differential failure at the marathon stage derailed his victory charge. While Al-Attiyah is likely to spearhead Toyota's challenge, its hopes of a long-awaited first Dakar win don't rest solely with him. Indeed, teammates Giniel de Villiers and Bernhard ten Brinke ran him close enough last year to be seen as major contenders in their own right. #101 Toyota Hilux: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Mathieu Baumel Photo by: Silk Way Rally 2. Will Mini's buggy be up to the task? Despite Peugeot's withdrawal the cast of characters out front in the car category is due to remain largely unchanged, with all four of its drivers returning in 2019 – three of them behind the wheel of Mini's new buggy. With Carlos Sainz, Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres, the X-raid team would no doubt love to pick up right where Peugeot left off, but it almost certainly won't be as simple as that given that the new car remains unproven. X-raid had debuted three buggies in the event last year, but they made virtually no impact, as Bryce Menzies and Yazeed Al-Rajhi had major accidents on the second stage and Mikko Hirvonen was ruled out in the third. And while reigning champion Sainz insists “the car's evolution has been huge” since he first sampled it, he concedes reliability is a major worry “because of a lack of experience for the car itself in competition”. Sainz's competitive debut in the buggy in Rally Morocco was thwarted by recurring gearbox issues, but teammate Despres did showcase the car's potential by placing on the podium. Read Also: Sainz has reliability concerns over Mini Dakar buggy #309 X-Raid Mini John Cooper Works Buggy Team: Cyril Despres, Jean-Paul Colet Photo by: Rally Du Maroc 3. Mini hedges its bets Also on the podium in Morocco, behind winner Al-Attiyah but ahead of Despres, was Kuba Przygonski on the Mini John Cooper Works Rally car, which will prop up X-raid's Dakar challenge. X-raid's 4x4 challenger has largely been left behind by rivals Peugeot and Toyota in the recent editions, and the dunes are unlikely to suit it much compared to the buggy – but it is crucially a known quantity. It has had success over the past year, as Przygonski won this year's world cross-country championship, while Yazeed Al-Rajhi – who moves back to the 4x4 after his short-lived challenge with the buggy last year – claimed Silk Way Rally Honours. Przygonski, a credible fifth in last year's Dakar, could be seen as the frontrunner among the 4x4s, although the roster also features a two-time Dakar winner in Nani Roma, who returned to the Mini camp ahead of last year's event but exited early due to injury. Al-Rajhi and five-time stage winner Orlando Terranova could also be in the mix if the 4x4 proves competitive enough, while Boris Garafulic, who makes up the five-car John Cooper Works Rally roster, is targeting a first top-10 finish. #303 X-Raid Team Mini: Jakub Przygonski, Tom Colsoul Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool 4. Loeb the underdog WRC legend Loeb's stint as a works Peugeot rally-raid driver yielded many a stage win on all kinds of terrain and transformed him and co-driver Daniel Elena into a properly top cross-country crew – yet it was impossible not to feel a tinge of disappointment when it concluded. While the French marque dominated for three straight years, Loeb didn't manage to capitalise for an overall trophy of his own. That was to be it for now, and everyone – including Loeb himself – was left wondering whether he'd get another shot at Dakar glory. The answer came sooner than expected, with a late deal with long-serving Peugeot customer PH Sport to run a 2017-spec 3008DKR in this year's edition. Al-Attiyah has named Loeb as the favourite, and there's some logic to that, as the buggy in question made easy work of the 2017 race by locking out the podium and should fit this year's route. But Loeb and Elena, while impressively quick learners, have made their fair share of errors on the more challenging stages and do not have the dune experience of their main rivals. And of course the factory budget and personnel is sure to be sorely missed. This is why Loeb, who is partnered by fellow PH Sport entrants Harry Hunt and Pierre Lachaume, is probably more of a dark horse contender. Then again, the man does have a reputation for doing the impossible. Sébastien Loeb, Peugeot 3008DKR Photo by: Sébastien Loeb Racing 5. KTM stars set for intra-team warfare KTM has continued its domination of the Dakar's bikes class in recent years, but interestingly three different riders have taken the spoils in the last three years, after five-time champion Marc Coma decided to hang up his helmet. Aussie rider Toby Price came out on top in a wide-open 2016 contest, before Sam Sunderland added his name to the winners' list in 2017 and Matthias Walkner triumphed last year.<doc-sep>
Australian Toby Price won his second Dakar Rally motorbike title by winning a dramatic final stage into Lima. Key points: This year's Dakar Rally was held solely in Peru for the first time This year's Dakar Rally was held solely in Peru for the first time Toby Price broke his wrist before the race, but still competed Toby Price broke his wrist before the race, but still competed Price won his first stage of the race on the 10th and final stage Price came to the 10th and final stage after racing almost 5,200 kilometres with only one minute's lead over Chilean rider, Pablo Quintanilla. Then, just 10 kilometres into the dune-heavy, 112-kilometre course from Pisco to the Peruvian capital, Quintanilla fell off his bike and injured his foot, losing 19 minutes to drop to fourth overall, leaving Price to claim the stage win — his first of this year's race. Price came into the race under a significant injury cloud, having broken the scaphoid bone in his right wrist just weeks prior to the flag going down in Peru. The Australian thought he would endure two stages then pull out, but support and luck kept him going, with the 2016 champion going for broke on Tuesday's eighth stage to take the overall lead. Loading "Pretty much all I can say is that it feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist now," Price said after 10 agonising days of being jolted and bumped across the dunes and desert. "It's not very comfortable, it's not very enjoyable. Now I'll just wait and see what damage I've done to my wrist. "At the end of the day, the pain and torture has been worth it. "I thought I would only be able to do two stages and then pull out and that would have been me done, but the support from everyone back home in Australia, and then having some things go my way and a bit of luck, it just worked out in the end. "It's very crazy to sit here and say that we won the Dakar Rally with no stage victories until today. It's really crazy. I'm over the moon." Defending champion Matthias Walkner — who started the stage only six minutes behind overall — threatened early but faded on the stage and arrived two minutes behind in third. That was enough for the Austrian to finish second overall, nine minutes behind, with Sam Sunderland in third, 13 minutes down. Sunderland was penalised an hour before the stage on Wednesday for deliberately causing an electrical fault in his navigation tracker on Tuesday so he would not have to open the way, but the Briton won his appeal to finish only his second Dakar in six attempts. The other was when he won the title in 2017. The top three riders rode KTMs, which won an 18th successive motorbike class. The Dakar Rally has been held in South America since 2009. ( AP: Ricardo Mazalan Al-Attiyah regains Dakar crown Nasser Al-Attiyah won his third Dakar Rally crown in the car division, taking a 51-minute lead into the final stage. He let others race for the stage win, which went to Carlos Sainz, last year's champion. Al-Attiyah rolled in nine minutes later in his Toyota, and won the Dakar by 46 minutes from Nani Roma, the 2014 champion. Runner-up to Sainz last year, Al-Attiyah regained the title he earned in 2011 and 2015, when the Qatari also won with French co-driver Mathieu Baumel. "It's fantastic, no mistakes," Al-Attiyah said. "The good thing was that from day three we were leading and we built on our time every day until we came to the last day with a big, big lead. We felt that a 100 per cent Peru rally, with no other country, there would be a lot of sand dunes, so we could do what we know we're good at." Roma — who won two motorbike titles before switching to four wheels in 2005 — was second after a busier-than-usual year of rallying to rebound from crashing out early in the Dakar last year. Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb — who was in title contention until electrical problems on Monday — was third at his fourth Dakar. AP/Reuters