Dakar Rally 2024: The ‘Dakar Spirit’ was on display during the recent stages as Skiing Champ Chicherit, Rally Legend Nasser Al-Attiyah and India’s Harith Noah came out to help fellow rider Mason Kleing.
Dakar 2024: drivers put aside their differences to help
In a video clip posted on Dakar Rally’s Instagram page, it was noted that Klein’s bike couldn’t start due to some battery issue. In a display of Dakar Spirit, he received manual assistance from the aforementioned legends. Check out the video clip below:
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Similarly, we saw multiple instances of drivers abandoning their own races to help fellow riders. Even in the scorching heat of the competition the drivers put the comradery 1st and never fail to assist a fellow.
Mason Klein’s career
Mason Klein burst onto the scene in 2022 and went on to make a name for himself by challenging the factory riders. From time to time, he has proven himself to be one of the most talented young bikers out there. The 22-year-old from California has followed his father Larry’s footsteps.
Mason and his younger brother Carter have been competing for over a decade in events like AMA Hare & Hound and Best in the Desert, which Mason has won twice in the 300 Pro class.
Klein entered his first Sonora Rally in 2020. It has been a learning curve for the young American, who improved from 26th at Sonora in 2020 to fifth in 2021, before embarking on his first Dakar in 2022.
Mason Klein made history this Saturday with a third-place finish in the first stage of the Dakar 2024. For the first time, Kove secured a top-three finish in a stage, in only its second year, with the rider trailing 11m19s behind the winner, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports). Klein is also in third place in the overall standings.
Speaking to Dakar’s official website, the American admitted that he reflected on whether he had made the best choice by opting to be the first to start:
“I chose to start first and then I thought about what I did after like, as I was laying in bed, I was kind of realising what I did and I was thinking, oh, maybe I should have at least gone behind Skyler [Howes]. But anyways, like I said before, the idea of opening the first stage at the Dakar is really cool. So, in the end, no regrets because now I can say I’ve done it.”
Regarding the challenges of the stage, Klein explained: “For sure it was pretty rocky; if you look at my tyres, they’re pretty much fully gone. Yeah, plenty of rocks. It was a lot of really fast track too though. And with the headwind, I never really knew if I was underpowered or I was just like being stopped. Maybe that’s why my rear tyre is so bald, just spinning.”
