Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland has taken the win on the long stage three of Rally Kazakhstan. Finishing two minutes ahead of his rivals, the result moves Sunderland up to fourth in the provisional overall standings. Matthias Walkner safely completed the stage in 10th, just under 12 minutes down on his teammate.

Marking the second half of the event’s marathon stage, and also including the longest special of the event at 331km, stage three of the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan proved to be a tough test for all. With no outside assistance allowed overnight, riders had to conserve their machines over the two days to ensure their safe arrival back to the bivouac, at the end of day three. Again facing a wide variety of terrain, competitors navigated their way through gravel tracks and fast, open desert, before a more technical section led them onto 10km of dunes to finish the stage.

Lying sixth overall coming into stage three, Sam Sunderland knew he had to push to make up time on his rivals. With an advantageous start position, the Brit was able to catch and pass a number of riders ahead of him while maintaining a strong, but safe pace on the high-speed pistes. With the combined distance of the marathon stage totalling over 600km, Sam also knew that preserving his tires would be necessary, especially in the closing kilometers of the special. Despite slowing towards the end, Sunderland completed the stage over two minutes ahead of his nearest competitor and now lies fourth overall in the provisional rally standings.

Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Ross Branch has taken the lead of Rally Kazakhstan following another strong ride on stage three of the event. Bringing his Yamaha WR450F Rally home in third place, Branch moves up to the head of the field with just two days of racing remaining. Rounding out yet another highly positive day for the team, Adrien Van Beveren placed second on today’s stage, with Andrew Short in fifth.

As the fourth rider to enter today’s third stage of Rally Kazakhstan, Branch had the unenviable task of opening the stage with the other leading riders. Unfazed by the task in front of him, Ross focused on himself, brought his navigational skills to the fore and completed the stage as the third fastest rider. After three consecutive stage results inside the top four, Branch now sits on top of the overall provisional classification with a near six-and-a-half-minute lead.

Adrien Van Beveren claimed his best stage result of the rally so far with a second-place finish on stage three. Much like his teammate Ross Branch, the Frenchman rode his own race and put his navigational skills to good use to secure his impressive runner-up result. Van Beveren’s strong form and consistency this week has elevated him to second place in the provisional standings for a Yamaha 1-2.

The super-consistent Andrew Short placed fifth on stage three to maintain his fifth-place ranking in this year’s Rally Kazakhstan. After successfully completing the marathon stage on his Yamaha WR450F Rally, the American picked up an unfortunate time penalty when he went off course due to a minor navigational area, just before a refuelling station. Nevertheless, Andrew has created a comfortable margin over the riders behind him as he enters tomorrow’s penultimate stage.

Tomorrow’s stage four features a 309km special. Early on, riders will work their way through a rocky, narrow canyon before high-speed sections form a large part of the stage. The conditions then change to sandy soil where accurate navigation is essential, especially for Adrien and Ross who will be the second and third riders to enter the special. Upon completion of the penultimate stage, just one more day of racing separates the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team from the event’s finish line on Sunday.

Second into today’s stage and tasked with opening much of the special, Matthias Walkner put in an excellent performance, maintaining a fast pace with very few errors right up to the final stretch. A small mistake cost the Austrian racer dearly however, with him losing over 10 minutes while trying to get back on track. Also concerned with the stress on his rear tire, Matthias chose to ease his pace and bring his KTM 450 RALLY home safely for a strong start on Saturday’s stage four.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides has successfully completed stage three of the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan in sixth place, to lie sixth overall in the provisional rally standings. Opening the day’s special, Skyler Howes frustratingly suffered an issue with his rear mousse, which caused him to slow and then retire from the stage.

As the second half of the marathon stage, day three in Kazakhstan proved to be a huge challenge for both the riders and their machines. With over 600km raced over the course of the two days, machine preservation would prove key to a safe return to the bivouac at Aktau.

Continuing to build his confidence and find his speed on the tough tracks of the rally, Luciano Benavides impressed once again with a sixth-place result that sees him move two places higher in the overall standings to sixth. Riding a calculated special, the Argentinian was able to manage his pace to complete the stage just less than seven minutes down on the winner after over three and a half hours of racing.

Sam Sunderland: “So the marathon stage is done, and it was quite a tough one, especially as it was one of the longest specials of the race. It was hot out there today, and you never feel quite as good on the second half of the marathon stage anyway. I tried to keep a good pace and with about 80 kilometers to go I saw Skyler had a problem with his mousse. I knew then I had to slow things down a little to be able to make the finish, especially in the faster sections. When we got back into the sand, I was able to push on again to get a good result. I’m happy to win the stage, but there’s still work to do so hopefully I can have another good day opening the stage tomorrow.”

Ross Branch: Mixed emotions today. The stage was going really well but I had a small issue with the mousse in my tyre near the end. I was able to complete the stage, that was main thing, but I lost a little bit of time. I’m in the lead though so overall it was a pretty good end to the marathon stage. I’m happy to be back with the team, they’ll prepare the bike for tomorrow and we’re in a really good place so I’m looking forward to the next two days and keep doing what we’re doing and see where we end up.

Adrien Van Beveren: It was another really fast stage today, so keeping focused was really important. The marathon stage was challenging and I’m really happy to have completed it with no issues for myself or my bike. My navigation was good today, and this really helped me to achieve such a strong result. I’ll be approaching the remaining days with the same focus and the same mentality to maintain my pace and stay up front. Another great day for me and the team so everything is going really well.

Andrew Short: Today was the second day of the marathon stage and these stages can be a little crazy. A few riders lost their mousses and had other issues but fortunately for me, my Yamaha ran great and I was able to complete the stage successfully. I did make one big mistake though with my navigation, which made me go way off course before the refuelling station and I picked up a penalty. But overall, two days to go and I’m feeling good so I’m looking forward to completing the rally with the same momentum that’s got me to the end of day three.

Matthias Walkner: “Today went really well for me. It was a long stage at well over 300 kilometers, but I felt really comfortable with the pace, my bike was perfect, and I felt like I was riding really well. Starting off second meant I was opening a lot of the stage with Skyler, but at around kilometer 220 I saw he had a problem and from there I slowed things down a little while still trying to make up time in the slower, more technical sections. Up to that point I think I was still in the fight for the stage win. Unfortunately, one small mistake in the sand close to the end of the stage cost me a lot of minutes – I tried to correct it too quickly and that cost me a few more. By that point, Sam caught me, and we rode together for the finish. The results don’t really show it, because I ended up over 10 minutes down, but I’m really happy with how I rode the stage. With two days left, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow now.”

Luciano Benavides: “Today’s stage went well for me today. I was able to ride quite consistently and although I made a couple of small mistakes with the navigation, I didn’t lose too much time. It was a really fast stage again and so I tried to pull higher gears to conserve the tyre a little. The area of dunes near the finish were very tough to race through as it was so hot, but I’m happy to arrive at the finish safely after two hard stages. It feels good to build my confidence each day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Skyler Howes: “It’s been a frustrating day today, especially as the rally was going so well for me up to this point. Everything looked good at the start of the stage after yesterday and I was riding really well and making good time. Around kilometre 200 I blew out a couple of corners and was wondering why I had no rear traction. I looked down to see the tyre was damaged and so I knew I would have to slow my pace a little. I tried my best to fix it and keep the tyre on the rim, but eventually it shredded and came off the rim. I got to within about 20km of the finish just riding on the rim, but after travelling so far, I had to stop. It’s racing and although thankfully rare, these things can happen. I’ll regroup now and get the bike fixed up and continue riding tomorrow to keep working and get more saddle time.”

Rally Kazakhstan continues with Saturday’s 571.90km stage four. Bookended by two sizeable liaison sections, the timed special, at 308.8km, will challenge riders with a mixture of rocky tracks, riverbeds, and fast open desert. Navigation skills will be tested in the 40km of alternating sand and dune sections.

2021 Rally Kazakhstan – Provisional Results, Stage Three

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:38:18

2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 3:40:26 +2:08

3. Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 3:41:48 +3:30

4. Franco Caimi (FRA), Hero, 3:42:45 +4:27

5. Andrew Short (USA), Yamaha, 3:44:47 +6:29

2021 Rally Kazakhstan – Provisional Standings (after Stage Three)

1. Ross Branch (BWA), Yamaha, 9:45:46

2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 9:52:13 +6:27

3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 9:53:08 +7:22

4. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 9:54:01 +8:15

5. Andrew Short (USA), Yamaha, 10:04:25 +18:39