Skyler Howes has won stage four at the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan ahead of Matthias Walkner and Australian Daniel Sanders.
Unable to complete the previous day’s racing due to a technical issue, the Howes was able to push right from the start of today’s special to make up time on his rivals and ultimately claim his second stage win of the event.
Stage four, the longest of the event due in part to the 263.10km of liaison, once again tested all competitors with a variety of terrain and demanding navigation. A 40km route through sand tracks and dunes proved especially tough. And rain for the entire 308.8km special added an extra challenge, with the ground becoming slippery, especially in the slower technical sections.
As rocky tracks turned to sand and dunes, Howes had to ease his pace a little, and although falling when the bike was fully loaded after the refuelling stop, he was thankfully able to continue unhurt to the stage finish over two minutes ahead of Walkner.
“Day four was really interesting because it rained for the whole stage,” Howes said. “It was weird because some places would have lots of traction, and others would be really slippery. It was full gas at the beginning over nice twisting, turning tracks. I caught up with a couple of other riders and then I think we spurred each other on a little because we pushed hard through the rest of the stage. After refuelling, I struggled in the soft dunes a little and had one crash that took me over the bars. After that I eased off a little until we were back on the fast tracks again. It feels great to get another stage win, obviously it would be nice if I was still up there in the overall, but it’s definitely good training, so looking forward to the final day tomorrow.”
Despite the challenging conditions on the extremely fast pistes, Matthias Walkner made the best use of his extensive experience to keep a level head and carefully navigate his way through stage four. Setting off 10th into the special, the Austrian star was able to catch and pass a number of riders ahead of him, while still minimizing any unforced errors. In finishing as runner-up, the 2018 Dakar Champion moves up to second overall in the provisional overall standings, just over four minutes down on the leader Ross Branch.
“I think that had to be the toughest day of the rally so far for me,” Walkner said. “It was raining for pretty much the whole stage and that made it quite slippery in places, especially in the more technical sections. The dunes were nice but were followed by a very physically demanding area full of camel grass – that really took it out of you. I tried my best to push right to the end, and I’m happy with both my riding and the bike – that’s working really well. Tomorrow I’ll go out and do my best again and see what happens at the finish line.”
Daniel Sanders claimed a solid third place, posting his best result of the rally so far, the sandy terrain combined with Sanders’ strong navigational skills allowed the Australian to put his best foot forward, get on the gas, and end the special as one of the leading riders. Daniel’s result elevates him to sixth in the overall provisional classification with just one day of racing to go.
“That’s stage four done and dusted and I’m really happy to finish third,” Sanders enthused. “I rode with Matthias Walkner for a while, which was good, and after the fuel stop we finally hit some proper sand dunes. When we got into them I was able to pass Walkner, and then I passed Skyler Howes not long afterwards, so I knew my pace was good. I could then ride in clean air and I was really happy with my riding today. Today’s stage was a lot like what we have at the Dakar so it was fun to be back in the sand and I’m looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.”
Taking another key step forward, Ross Branch placed fourth. Opting to focus on his navigation, to ensure a solid result, Branch’s strategy paid off and he will enter tomorrow’s final stage with a healthy lead of just over four minutes in the overall provisional classification.
“It was another good day today,” Branch said. “I focused a lot on my navigation, and it was sometimes a case of going slow to go fast because of the rain. It was also quite slippery in some parts of the stage. It was good fun though, and my bike is running well. I’m really looking forward to the last day tomorrow. It’s gone by really quickly and I’ve had a great week with the team here in Kazakhstan.”
Rally Kazakhstan concludes with the 352.34km stage five tomorrow. The final special of the event could still throw up some surprises with a distance of 267.02km raced against the clock.
2021 Rally Kazakhstan – Provisional Results, Stage Four
1 Skyler Howes (USA), Husqvarna, 3:26:48
2 Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:29:01 +2:13
3 Daniel Sanders (AUS), GASGAS, 3:30:54 +4:06
4 Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 3:32:18 +5:30
5 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 3:35:15 +8:27
6 Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero) 3:35:23
7 Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:38:46 +11:58
2021 Rally Kazakhstan – Provisional Standings (after Stage Four)
1 Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 13:18:04
2 Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 13:22:09 +4:05
3 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 13:27:28 +9:24
4 Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 13:32:47 +14:43
5 Andrew Short (USA), Yamaha, 13:47:12 +29:08
6 Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 13:49:14
7 Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 13:59:13
