Tuesday, 7 January 2020:

TOBY PRICE of Australia  at Magdalena Beach in Lima, Peru.

Australian motorcyclist Toby Price has dropped to ninth in the overall Dakar Rally rankings after finishing 17th on the second stage of the race in Saudi Arabia.

Ross Branch won the second day's racing in the bike category, becoming the first stage winner from Botswana.

Reigning champion Price had triumphed in the 2020 event's opening stage on Sunday, but endured a day to forget on the drive from Al Wajh to Neom in the country's northwest.

Price, who won the Dakar Rally in 2016 and 2019, found it difficult to lead the way and lost 12 minutes on day two.

"Starting first is always going to be a disadvantage and today was a day I knew the rest of the field would make time on me," Price said.

"I don't plan on starting first too many more times after my efforts today."

The 32-year-old finished the second stage one place above fellow Aussie Rodney Faggotter, who moved up to 19th in the overall rankings.

Aussies Ben Young (88th), Trevor Wilson (121st) and Matthew Tisdall (130th) were also competing.

After two days of riding, Britain's Sam Sunderland leads the overall rankings ahead of Chilean Pablo Quintanilla and Argentina's Kevin Benavides.

South African Giniel de Villiers won the second stage of the car category, claiming the 15th stage victory of his career.

Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso lost two-and-a-half hours for repairs after an impact with a rock ripped a wheel off his Toyota, and is ranked 47th after two stages.

Belarusian Siarhei Viazovich finished first in the second stage of the truck category, while Chile's Ignacio Casale has won the first two stages in quad racing.

Another Chilean, the title holder Chaleco Lopez, leads the way in the SSV class after adding a stage two win to his fourth place on day one.

This year's Dakar is being held for the first time in the Middle East, with the event moving from South America a decade after it had left sub-Saharan Africa for security reasons.

Stage 3, which involves a circuit around Neom, takes place on Tuesday.

AAP