Matthias Walkner claims fourth on final stage of the 2017 Desafio Ruta 40 rally

4th Rd. Rally 2017 – Desafio Ruta 40 (ARG)

The 2017 Desafio Ruta 40 has proven to be an extremely tough rally, after winding its way through the deserts and mountains of Argentina. Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner brought his KTM 450 RALLY home in eighth place overall, thanks in part to an excellent performance on Thursday’s final stage. Walkner was happy to have completed the rally safely and without injury.
Walkner: “I am happy with my day today, I really enjoyed the stage. We had 50-60km of river beds at the beginning of the stage and then climbed higher up into the mountains over some really fast pistes. I felt my pace was better and closer to where it should be. With my team-mates forced to retire early on in the rally, my main goal was to simply get to the finish without making any big mistakes. The rally has been very tough. A mixture of rough terrain, difficult navigation and some terrible weather has made the whole event one of the hardest so far this year.”
After losing time very early on in the event due to a navigational error in the Prologue, Walkner was always going to be playing catch up to the leaders. Whilst trying his best to make up ground on the rest of the field, Walkner used his time on the bike wisely by working on his navigation skills and riding technique. 
Walkner: “I knew from the beginning it would be difficult to finish close to where I had expected. To take a penalty so soon after the start pretty much rules out your chances of a good result. I decided to make the best of things by working on my navigation and speed, two things I need to concentrate on for the run up to the Dakar. I am glad to reach the finish here without hurting myself and now I can go home for some rest and to start training for the next event in Morocco.”
There is now one round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship remaining – the OiLibya Rally in Morocco. With Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland sitting in third place overall in the championship standings, just six points from the leader, there is still everything to play for.
Provisional Results Stage Four – Desafio Ruta 40 2017 
1. Michael Metge (FRA), Honda, 2:16:12 
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:19:57 +3:45 
3. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 2:20:18 +4:06 
4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 2:21:34 +5:22 
5. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 2:20:54 +5:42
Other KTM
10. Jetro Salazar (ECU), KTM, 2:26:37 +10:25 
Provisional Standings – Desafio Ruta 40 after 5 of 5 stages

 1. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 19:13:24 
2. Paolo Goncalves (POR), Honda, 19:26:16 +12:52
 3. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 19:54:14 +40:50 
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Husqvarna, 20:10:28 +57:04
 5. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 20:16:19 +1:02:55
Other KTM 
6. Martin Duplessis (ARG), KTM, 21:10:58 +1:57:34 
7. Daniel Nosiglia (BOL), KTM, 21:24:10 +2:10:46 
8. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 21:45:23 +2:31:59

 Provisional Standings - FIM Cross-Country Rallies Championship after 4 of 5 races

 1. Pablo Quintanilla, 87 points 
2. Kevin Benavides, 82 
3. Sam Sunderland, 81
4. Paulo Goncalves, 74 
5. Matthias Walkner, 63 
6. Pela Renet, 31 
7. Xavier de Soultrait, 30 
8. Antoine Meo, 25 
9. David McBride, 24 
10. Mohammed Al Balooshi, 23 
Next event: OiLibya Rally (MAR) – 4th-10th October 2017

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