From the pinnacle of winning Stage 2 at the Kazakhstan Rally to this: “Damn… that’s Rally for ya! Marathon Stage bit me 200km into the 330km special,” tweeted the former Top American Skyler Howes. “Ran out of luck with the high speeds and the rear mousse disintegrated.
I got the tire to last till km250, stopping to wrap it with a rope at a camel farm. But that eventually failed and the tire shredded. Rode it on the rim for 60km before the rim failed and that was the end of it. Luckily I was next to some course workers that gave me shade and water.”
Returning to the bivouac, having been awarded a seven-hour penalty, the 29-year-old will continue with his event over the final two days of racing to gain experience and race time on his FR 450 Rally. “I will be able to continue the race tomorrow (sorry @louismotter for the late night) of course taking the max penalty today so the rest of the week will just be seat time. Had a good ride going until this point! Back to work and we’ll get them next time!”
Howes’ mousse misfortune moves former motocrosser Andrew Short to Top American status, although he is still running in 5th position overall. “Day 2 of the Marathon Stage turned out to be a wild one,” said Short from the bivouac. “I had some issues to manage today, but not near as bad as some others with their mousses. Everyday here is crazy fast. Two more stages left.”
Meanwhile, Short’s Monster Energy Yamaha Rally teammate Ross Branch moves into the overall lead after the Marathon Stage.
2021 Rally Kazakhstan – Stage 3 Provisional Classification
1. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 3:38:18
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 3:40:26
3. Ross Branch (Yamaha) 3:41:48
4. Franco Caimi (Hero) 3:42:45
5. Andrew Short (Yamaha) 3:44:47
13. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 8:00:00