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 the 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’.
Still with little experience on his Kove, the rider continues to familiarize himself with the bike but assured that he is pleased: ‘This is my third time on the bike now and I couldn’t be happier. I know I could only make it better from here. The idea of doing the rest of the Dakar is really exciting because I’m sure the bike will just keep getting better and better’.
As for his expectations for the rest of the Dakar, Klein stated: ‘I started thinking about like strategy and the thought of strategy is kind of like stressful. Before today, like this morning, I kind of just told myself I’ll try to ride this whole race without paying attention to the results, so much just riding because in the end, I feel like a lot of it comes down to luck anyways. Just to stay on the bike and finish every day is probably the most important part. And, if a good result comes, then I’d be really happy because that’s obviously what I want. So, yeah, trying to keep the stress out of my life’.