Comprising two timed specials, day one of the rally proved to be more of a challenge to all riders than anticipated. Heavy rain on the lead up to the event had caused a lot of the tracks to be far more difficult to follow than expected and as such accurate navigation was important to secure a top stage result. Featuring a hard-pack surface littered with small rocks and stones that made for very slippery riding conditions, stage one was a real test for both riders and machines.
Following his Prologue victory, Toby Price had first pick of today‰Ûªs start positions and chose to set off as the 15th rider away on the day‰Ûªs timed special. Catching the riders in front throughout the two-part stage, Price ultimately finished over two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Matthias Walkner. Earning himself the task of opening Saturday‰Ûªs Stage Two, the Australian will be aiming to keep to a strong pace and lose the minimum of time to the chasing riders.
‰ÛÏI made a few little minor mistakes today but I‰Ûªm happy overall with how I rode," Price said. "I had another issue with the GPS where it said I was missing a waypoint, but there was no possible way to be off-track there as the route took us right next to a big concrete canal that was shown in the road book and we were in the speed zone too. Things like that can be a little bit confusing, but all-in-all everything went well. I‰Ûªll open tomorrow‰Ûªs stage so there‰Ûªs a good chance of losing some time, but I‰Ûªll keep pushing and see where we end up.‰Û
