Price takes Dakar bikes lead as Brabec suffers engine failure

Paris, France: Toby Price seized the overall advantage in the Dakar Rally bikes category on Tuesday as previous leader Ricky Brabec's Honda suffered engine failure early on the eighth stage in Peru.

The 27-year-old Brabec held an eight-minute lead over Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren heading into the day, but his engine broke just 56 kilometres into the stage from San Juan de Marcona to Pisco.

KTM rider Matthias Walkner took stage victory as Price finished third on the day to top the standings.

Van Beveren missed the opportunity to claim the lead, losing more than 11 minutes to Walkner to slip to fifth overall.

Australian Price, the 2016 winner, leads Chile's Pablo Quintanilla by 1min 03sec, with Walkner over five minutes further back in third.

Brabec also pulled out of last year's race with a broken engine on the 13th stage, having quit on the 10th stage in 2017.

He was bidding to become the first American in any category to win the Dakar.