Motorsport: Walkner drops down bike standings with mechanical fail; Short retires from Dakar

KTM rider Matthias Walkner has plummeted down the bike standings after the Austrian suffered significant problems on Monday's stage two of the 2021 Dakar Rally from Bisha to Wadi ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia. Walker, who started the day third in the overall standings, lost two hours and 15 minutes as he encountered an issue which seemed to be linked to either his bike's gears or clutch. Andrew Short also suffered mechanical damage to his Yamaha bike, but the American deemed the problem serious enough to opt against possible assistance from his team, and he retired from the race instead. Honda's Joan Barreda Bort dominated stage two to climb to the top of the bike standings, while Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah triumphed in the cars ahead of Mini drivers Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz to lead overall.