Mason Klein: “It was super nice”

Dakar 2023 | Stage 2 | AL HENAKIYAH > AL DUWADIMI
January 2 ^nd 2023 - 15:23 [GMT + 3]

With the first stage win of his career achieved with panache, after opening the way at the end of the special and triumphing despite a 2-minute speeding penalty, Klein has made a sensational entrance into the Rally GP class.

“Today I felt really good apart from the speed penalty I got, again. But other than that, it was super nice. Most of the day I was just following the other guys and then at the last part they were making jokes about me leading out or not leading out and letting them all do the work. So, I said, fine, I’ll take my turn and I just left them and it was good. The terrain was super good. The navigation was nice. The roadbook was good. The thing is, with the speed, like the top speeds in the speed zones, it’s all so much for me. It’s so much for my brain. Sometimes I just blank. Like, I’ll be paying attention to the speed zone and it will say go, no turns, all you have to do is stay straight and follow this course. I have to almost stop, and I forget what I’m doing. I don’t know if it’s about experience. It’s pretty tough”.