Brabec and Barreda on the virtual podium after stage two

It was a long stage with more than 300 km where the cars started out ahead of the bikes and there were parts with a lot of fesh-fesh. There was also a lot of dust but even so I was able to overtake several cars. In the end I finished without problems with a calm pace so as to avoid any mistakes. One more day and I’m very pleased.

Days like today are really important. When you start out in first position, winning is very difficult. Open the track without making any mistakes throughout the day is really complicated, but these are the days that you really make progress on. At first I doubted as to whether to follow the tracks or not, but in the part on the beach I saw that they were catching me up and following the tracks I was able to push hard with good pace. In the end it turned out to be a perfect stage, with a very good starting position for tomorrow.

Today's stage was a very fast one. We started out behind the cars so there were quite a lot of broken areas with stones under the ground, so I had to take it easy. The idea of these first days is not to take any risks. I hold the same position but I am improving and I am motivated for the following days.

The second stage was awesome. More or less like what I’m used to at home. Lot’s of fast track, lots of rocks, fesh fesh and some dunes. I had a fun day, and rode most of the day with Quintanilla. It was great so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Third overall is not that good. We’ve got to be in front. So we are going to try tomorrow.

The idea for today's stage was to hold on to the position, it was not a day for attacking. The cars opened the track and it was a dangerous stage so I did not feel very comfortable opening the throttle. I preferred to sit back a little as there is still a lot of race ahead. I feel good and I am ready to attack when the opportunity arises.

In general, we are very happy with how this stage went. Joan opened the special very well and stayed ahead, finishing in a very good third position. Ricky had a great stage. We are not far into the Dakar so far but he is doing really well. Today Kevin wasn’t feeling too comfortable with the rear end of the bike, so we will look to modify it to make him feel better. Paulo did not want to take any risks and just get a feel for the bike, but from today on he will start to push harder each day. And finally José Ignacio did quite well, finishing among the top ten riders.