Following on from Ross Branch’s victory on the opening day of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Adrien Van Beveren has won stage two, continuing the team’s highly positive start to the rally. The Frenchman was faultless through the longest special stage of the event and now moves up to second place in the overall provisional classification. Ross remains well placed among the leaders in fourth with Andrew Short delivering another consistent result on stage two to maintain his sixth-place ranking.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s strong start to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge continued through stage two. With the terrain providing a seriously physical test, the riders raced for well over four hours and covered over 330 kilometres of rolling, power-sapping sand dunes, which pushed the team’s Yamaha WR450F Rally machinery to its absolute limits.
As the fifth rider to enter stage two, Van Beveren capitalised by following in the wheel tracks of those who opened the special, securing the stage win. Able to focus on his riding and maintain a high pace throughout the special, the Frenchman was in his element racing through the endless sand dunes that formed a large part of the stage. In taking a well-deserved victory, Van Beveren now advances to second place in the overall provisional classification.
Stage one winner, Ross Branch, posted an impressive result on day two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge despite a small crash, completing the special as the fourth fastest rider. Faced with the arduous task of opening the stage, his recent focus on navigational skills paid dividends with the 35-year-old completing the special just over eight minutes behind teammate Van Beveren.
Maintaining his consistent start to the event, Andrew Short brought his Yamaha WR450F Rally home in eighth place on stage two. Despite searching for a little more comfort and speed, the American maintains his sixth-place ranking in the overall provisional classification and enters tomorrow’s third stage with a favourable starting position.
Following on from today’s long day in the saddle, tomorrow’s stage three will cover 324.62 kilometres with 290km of those raced against the clock. Once completed, just two more days of racing at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will remain.
Adrien Van Beveren – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team
“I’ve had a really good day and I’m really happy to have won today. I made up a lot of time before refuelling and with some calculations, I thought it would be possible to catch the leaders on the stage. My speed was good but I came up a little short. Today’s stage had the perfect terrain for me, so I’m really pleased that I could show what I can do when it’s almost all sand dunes like it was today. It’s still early in the rally and tomorrow I will open the stage so it’s likely that I will lose some time, but I will do my best to minimise that and focus on my navigation to ensure another strong result.”
Ross Branch – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team
“It was a bit of an up and down day today. It started off really well and I’m happy with my navigation as I lead the stage all the way to around kilometre 160. This was great for my confidence knowing that I can navigate well through sand dunes where a mistake could cost a lot of time. Unfortunately, at around 290 kilometres I jumped off the top of dune like usual, tucked the front, and crashed. It broke my navigational tower but as it happened near the end I didn’t lose too much time. The focus is now on tomorrow and I’ll be giving it my best shot as always.”
Andrew Short – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team
“Today was a little bit like yesterday where I just didn’t quite have the pace of the leaders. I was riding cautiously to stay comfortable out there but I know my speed can improve. My bike is working great, I just need to figure out or find the last piece of the puzzle. Overall, today was a great experience as the terrain was just like what we see at the Dakar so that’s a positive and hopefully from tomorrow I can find some speed and comfort.”
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021
Stage 2 Provisional Classification
- Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 4:24:34
- Matthias Walkner (KTM) 4:26:56 + 0:02:22
- Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4:27:35 + 0:03:01
- Ross Branch (Yamaha) 4:32:36 + 0:08:02
- Aaron Mare (KTM) 4:40:16 + 0:15:42
- Sebastian Buhler (Hero) 4:41:08 + 0:16:34
…
- Andrew Short (Yamaha) 4:44:44 + 0:20:10
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 2)
- Matthias Walkner (KTM) 7:52:31
- Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 7:55:10 + 0:02:38
- Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 7:56:13 + 0:03:41
- Ross Branch (Yamaha) 7:58:07 + 0:05:36
- Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero) 8:16:27 + 0:23:56
6. Andrew Short (Yamaha) 8:16:28 + 0:23:57
