January 8, 2023: Stage 8

With yesterday’s stage reduced to just a liaison section due to the fatigue of the riders and the bad weather across the region, today’s race saw the competitors return to Riyadh after staying in a temporary bivouac at Al Duwadimi. Stage eight delivered a demanding 346-kilometer timed special that led riders through a mixture of stony valleys, dunes, and fast, rocky tracks. The grueling course took a heavy toll on the bikers tasked with opening the road, even with the time bonuses awarded to the first three. 

Young American Mason Klein thought he had it in the bag when he crossed the finish line, but the win went to the Ross Branch, who landed Hero a second stage triumph to go along with the one that Joaquim Rodrigues claimed last year. Today’s stage victory was definitely a welcomed change of fortune for the Botswana rider, after running out of fuel in the two previous stages. 

Ross Branch: “It’s been a terrible week for us. I needed to get back on top for myself and for the team. They’ve worked so hard. I made a couple of small mistakes, but hopefully we can stay at the top of the leader board until all the guys have finished today and get another stage win for Hero MotorSports, that’s the main goal. We wanted to be at the front at the end of the rally, but unfortunately that time has passed. We ran out of fuel, which was completely unexpected and nobody’s fault. We’ve been perfect today and that’s what counts.”

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But perhaps the one racer benefitting the most from the cancellation of the timed special on Dakar stage seven was GASGAS’ Daniel Sanders. Able to replenish his energy levels a little more on Saturday after coming down with a stomach bug, Chucky came out swinging on today’s stage eight to post the second-fastest time. With today’s performance, Sanders chopped almost 12 minutes out of the current leader’s advantage in the provisional rally standings.

Daniel Sanders: “Damn it was pretty wet out there this morning! For the guys out first it must have been pretty bad, and navigating was tough because of the rain and sand on the goggles. I was fortunate to get a bit of a recovery day yesterday, and I used that time to get some rest and I was able to keep what I ate and drank down, so coming into today things were a lot better. We have another rest day tomorrow, so I think going into next week we’ll be much closer to 100% and I’m excited for week two now that I’m feeling a lot more like myself.”

The third fastest stage time was clocked by Mason Klein who was initially satisfied to take control of the overall race, as seen on the first classification sheets. However, a penalty for speeding stripped him of this honor, dropping him down from second to third place in the stage and restoring his countryman and mentor Skyler Howes to the top of the motorbike classification in spite of a 19th place finish. Still, Mason’s performance puts him in an impressive 3rd spot in the general standings.

Mason Klein: “I didn’t expect [to be at this level], but I really wanted it. I had a big crash in the dunes, not a big one, but it could have been really bad. I was doing a handstand for a really long time and I landed with both legs on the left side of the bike, I used the front brake and I had to drop the bike and crash on purpose to not go off the edge of the dune, it was pretty scary. I had to go pee twice today, I blame that for why I lost!”

The fourth and fifth fastest stage times were snatched by Honda’s Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Van Beveren who are still in contention for a podium position in fifth and sixth place overall, going into the rest day. 

Meanwhile, KTM’s Kevin Benavides initially lost a little time over the first 50 kilometers or so, where navigation was especially technical. However, remaining focused, the Argentinian then got his head down to push on for the remainder of the special. Fighting his way back to inside the top 10 on time, Kevin completed the stage in 10th, which in turn elevates him to second in the overall standings. 

Kevin Benavides: “Today was really fast and sandier. The link route was really long in the morning and now we have 300 km more to get to the bivouac, so that will be almost 900 km, a very long day. Yesterday I lost a lot of time at one moment, at one way point, like other riders also, but after that I wasn’t thinking about a strategy already. I’m just trying to do the best day by day. The level right now is so high. I think all the times are really close. There are still eight stages more of the race, so I’ll try to keep the best pace every day and make them positive days”.

Stage 8 Top 10 Motorcycle Rankings

Stage 8 Top 10 Overall Motorcycle Rankings

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January 7, 2023: Stage 7

Today’s stage has been canceled for motorcycles due to bad weather and the level of exhaustion riders are experiencing. See the statement below from race organizers.

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January 6, 2023: Stage 6

With the proposed bivouac at Al Duwadimi still under water due to the heavy rains affecting the region, organizers rerouted the Dakar caravan to Riyadh. Although the timed special was shortened to 358 kilometers, riders still faced an exhausting total distance of 768 kilometers today, due to the long liaisons. Today’s special comprised another day of dunes and sandy tracks, made all the more unpredictable due to the overnight rain.

After showing great pace so far at this year’s event, Luciano Benavides’ determination has paid off with a stage win at the Dakar. Setting off as the 12th rider into the special gave the Argentinian the perfect opportunity to make up time on his rivals ahead, and that’s exactly what he did. Fourth-quickest to kilometer 31, Benavides continued to pick off the riders ahead of him, steadily moving up the rankings to finally overhaul teammate Howes by the finish line. The result moves Luciano one place higher in the overall standings to ninth and closes the gap to his rivals ahead.

Putting in another strong performance, Luciano’s teammate Skyler Howes demonstrated why he currently sits at the top of the general rankings. The American skilfully navigated his way through the tracks and dunes of the stage to finish just under one minute short of the hard-charging Benavides. Increasing his lead at the top of the standings, Howes knows he can’t rest on his advantage and is ready to push once again tomorrow on the 713-kilometer first half of the event’s marathon stage.

Following his third-place finish on stage five, Toby Price set about chasing down the two riders ahead of him right from the start of today’s special. With the times among the front runners proving to be especially close this morning as they navigated their way through the damp dunes of the stage, Price found himself losing a few positions as he focused on his navigation near the front. After the refueling however, the Australian pushed on and moved back up the leaderboard to ultimately complete the stage in third place.

Despite his nasty fall yesterday, Joan Barreda finished in fourth place, which is identical to his position in the general rankings. Lagging ten minutes behind Skyler Howes, the Honda rider is still within reach of the overall title – an impressive feat since he is also pushing through the pain of a broken toe due to a previous crash a few days ago.

Joan Barreda: “Today I tried to keep my rhythm. At the beginning it was a little bit difficult. After, we pushed more in the dunes. I felt better there. But today everyone was tired and we saw really small gaps between the riders. After the first refueling I stayed a little calmer and I managed a medium position, so it’s not bad for tomorrow. It’s amazing, all these guys are so crazy, so fast. Everybody is navigating perfectly, everybody is faster and faster and each year is more and more fast. It’s like this, it’s a natural part of life. I’m just so happy to be here at my age and all my history over the years on the Dakar”. 

Behind Barreda’s dust was KTM’s Kevin Benavides. Third-quickest through the first 100 kilometers, the 2021 Dakar champion dropped a little time following a small mistake midway through the special. Regrouping, Kevin clawed some of that time back to complete the demanding special in fifth place. Benavides’ consistency is paying off. Finishing no lower than eighth so far at the 2023 event has resulted in the Argentine lying in a solid third overall in the provisional standings.

Adrien Van Beveren had to open the track after his stage win yesterday and had a regular day, finishing 11th (4:22s gap) – meaning he could still keep his 5th position in the overall standings. 

Thankfully regaining his strength each day following the crash that injured his wrist on stage two, Matthias Walkner continues to put in solid rides to stay in contention. Delivering another top-10 result on today’s special, the Austrian star minimized the time lost to the leaders and currently lies just outside the top 10 overall in 11th.

Matthias Walkner: “My wrist is getting better and better, which is a massive relief. But the pace is so fast right now, every day I am giving my all and it’s a real challenge. The Dakar is so unpredictable, and we know anything can happen, you just have to try and be prepared as best as you can when those things happen. We’re heading into the marathon stage tomorrow, which is always a big test of the rider and their bikes, so I’ll try my best as always and hopefully we won’t have any problems.”

Performance Of The Day

It has been 2 years since Husqvarna’s last stage victory on the Dakar. The most recent was the double on the 2020 edition achieved by Pablo Quintanilla. Luciano Benavides has offered the team another one, bringing the brand’s total to 12. For the Argentinean, it is his first stage victory on the Dakar. What’s more, his team-mate Skyler Howes made it a one-two finish for the constructor. The American also retained the lead in the general rankings. Husqvarna, the brand purchased in 2013 by the Pierer Group, which already owns KTM, could enjoy a fine tenth anniversary of this acquisition by winning the Dakar. Husky could follow on from GasGas, the last new brand to join the Mattighofen stable, which tasted victory last year. HVA could become the 7th constructor to write its name on the Dakar roll of honor.

Stage 6 Top 10 Motorcycle Rankings

Stage 6 Overall Top 10 Motorcycle Rankings

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January 5, 2023: Stage 5

It was billed by the organizers as a tough one, and stage five didn’t disappoint. Totaling 645 kilometers, the day was made up almost entirely of sandy tracks littered with camel grass, mixed with energy-sapping dunes.

On a stage plagued by navigational challenges, Adrien Van Beveren soon proved himself to be a master at this game. While other riders were trying to find the right route, the man from northern France rode solo to a stage victory that puts him back in the hunt for the title. With this first victory behind the handlebars of a Honda, Van Beveren gained three positions in the general rankings to place himself in 5th place overall.

Right behind Van Beveren’s dust was his teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo, who clocked the fastest second time of the day with a difference of only 13 seconds, moving him up to 9th place in the general rankings.

Jose Ignacio Cornejo: “I pushed on alone, so it was exhausting mentally, but I rode a good stage. Some of the guys in front made mistakes with the navigation, but I was able to find the correct way quickly. I tried to push as much as I could. I saw that there were some mistakes from the guys in front with navigation. I didn’t make the same mistakes, so I thought I would be able to recover some time. I was just saying to myself, push, push, push until the end and I think it was a good stage in the end.”

Setting off fourth and soon finding himself in a group of four opening the stage, Toby Price delivered a strong performance over the first 180 kilometers that saw him lead the class. However, with his group failing to initially find a waypoint, all four lost valuable minutes while they retraced their way. After the refueling, and while in that same group, Joan Barreda crashed in front of Toby and went down. Unable to avoid the rider’s stricken machine, Price also crashed but was thankfully uninjured. Stopping to assist his rival resulted in several minutes lost – time that was subsequently returned to the Australian on completion of the stage. As such, Toby placed third for the day and lies second overall in the provisional standings.

Toby Price: “Tough stage today – we got lost early on and spent some minutes getting back on track there. Then, later on in the second half of the stage, Barreda had a big crash and I ended up getting tangled up in that. I was ok, but we stopped for around five minutes there to make sure Joan was ok. All in all, it’s not been a bad stage, I don’t think we lost too much time. I’ll get my shoulder looked at now because I knocked it in the crash, but apart from that, I’m looking forward to the next day.”

The fourth and fifth fastest times of the stage were snatched by Americans Mason Klein and Skyler Howes. As one of the riders with Toby and others, Skyler also stopped to help Barreda, the group then continued onwards to the finish. Despite completing the challenging stage in a provisional fifth place, Skyler’s time was good enough to elevate him into the lead of the overall rally standings.

For Joan Barreda, who was yesterday’s winner and is racing with a broken toe, it was one of the hardest stages.

Joan Barreda: “For me, it was a really difficult stage. I was opening in the morning, but we had some navigation difficulties before refueling. Afterwards, there was a group of riders together and we carried on until the finish, but I had a crash thirty kilometers before the end. I banged my head on the ground a bit and I was a little bit confused. But I received help from my teammates and we rode together until the finish.”

Things were looking pretty good for GasGas’ Daniel Sanders at the 2023 Dakar. Unfortunately for the early rally leader, during the night ahead of stage five, he came down with a sickness bug that zapped all of his energy. But, digging deep from the moment he entered the stage five special, Sanders safely reached the finish line in 21st and will now do all he can to rest, recover, then prepare for tomorrow’s stage six. Daniel now lies eighth overall with nine days of racing still remaining.

Daniel Sanders: “It’s been a bit of a struggle today to say the least. When I woke up, I didn’t feel good at all. I had no energy, couldn’t really eat or drink anything, so it seems like I’ve picked up some kind of bug, I guess. So yeah, it’s a bit of a bummer after starting the rally so well. What made things even tougher was that my bike is set up to work at higher speeds and I just didn’t have the pace I needed today. So we’ll make a few changes ahead of tomorrow to dial the comfort back in and hopefully with some rest I can be back fighting up front again.”

Stat Of The Day: 100

With his 3rd stage victory on the Dakar the day after his 32nd birthday, Adrien Van Beveren has offered Honda a fine gift for his first Dakar in red: the manufacturer’s 100th stage victory. As a result, AVB becomes the 13th Frenchman to shine for Honda. France thus enhances its status as the most prolific nation for the Japanese brand, ahead of 5 Italians. It was Christian Desnoyers in 1979 who kicked off proceedings for the country where the race was born, by winning the prologue in Montlhéry on the first Paris-Dakar. In individual terms, the record holder is Joan Barreda who yesterday raised his score in Honda’s colors to 21, far ahead of the 9 stage wins for Brabec, the 8 by Neveu and the 7 by Lalay or Vassard. There still remain 40 successes to be obtained for Honda in order to equal the 140 victories accomplished by Yamaha and 130 to join KTM with its 230 victories acquired to date.

Stage 5 Top 10 Motorcycle Rankings

Stage 5 Top 10 Overall Motorcycle Rankings

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