Dakar Rally

EL MATADOR CARLOS SAINZ TAKES HIS FOURTH DAKAR WIN AND AUDI GET THEIR FIRST! LOEB THIRD.

DAY 15: Stage 12 – January 19, 2024

Route: Yanbu > Yanbu – Liaison 153km and Special 175km

– History was made on Friday’s final stage of the 46th Dakar Rally as, for the first-time ever by a car equipped with electric drivetrains, Carlos Sainz’s futuristic Audi RS Q e-tron beat all-comers over the 5,000km of perilous dunes, mountains and canyons in Saudi Arabia. It is the Spanish legend’s fourth Dakar title win with the 61-year-old and his co-driver Lucas Cruz demonstrating when to push for speed and when to switch the strategy. Sainz said: “When you work hard and you believe in yourself, when you have a good team and good people around you, then the work will always pay off. This car is so special. I want to enjoy this victory.”

– With Frenchman Sébastien Loeb third in the Ultimate category, Belgian Guillaume de Mévius banked second behind Sainz in his Toyota Hilux Overdrive alongside co-driver Xavier Panseri at their first rally together. Twenty years ago, De Mévius’s father Grégoire raced against Sainz, now his 29-year-old son is carrying on the family tradition. De Mévius, who became the first driver under 30 to finish on the Ultimate podium since the rally left Africa, said: “We always dreamed about it, but it was not the objective at the beginning of the race. It’s an amazing feeling.”

– The Challenger class provided most of the drama over the final 175-kilometre loop around the Yanbu bivouac as Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno started the day 25 minutes off the lead in their Taurus T3 Max, but dug deep to overhaul American Mitch Guthrie Jr. to win her first Dakar title by 36m46s with Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška third. She now becomes the first woman to win a Dakar title since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2001. After Guthrie Jr. and co-driver Kellon Walch came to a standstill twice on the final stage, Gutiérrez, 32, revealed: “I always try to fight until the finish. We didn’t know what had happened until the last kilometres. We pushed a lot on this stage because I knew that 25 minutes is a lot, but if something happens behind you, you never know.”

– Defending bike champion Kevin Benavides tried bravely to cut into Ricky Brabec’s overall lead in the second week and a Stage 12 victory – his third of the 2024 race – saw him finish fourth overall, 38m48s behind the now two-time Dakar winner. With fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Toby Price in fifth, Benavides admitted: “It was a really tough Dakar with really hard and really long stages. We were on the bike for so many hours each day.” His younger brother Luciano claimed an impressive seventh with Australian Daniel Sanders and Slovakian Štefan Svitko also top 10.

– With the podium competitors and finishers in each category honoured at a podium ceremony in Yanbu, the Dakar has proved yet again to be the greatest challenge that motorsport has to offer as it plunged the convoy into an intense 5,000-km battle through the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

2024 Dakar Rally selected overall standings after Stage 12

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 48h 15m 18s
2. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) +1h 20m 25s
3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +1h 29m 12s
7. Giniel De Villiers (RSA) +2h 50m 26s
9. Lucas Moraes (BRZ) +3h 03m 12s
15. Laia Sanz (ESP) +4h 53m 46s
26. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +15h 19m 39s
30. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) +17h 25m 12s
42. Seth Quintero (USA) +69h 04m 43s

Challenger Car

1. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) 53h 59m 47s
2. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +36m 46s
3. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) +58m 47s
4. Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) +1h 11m 20s
5. Austin Jones (USA) +1h 44m 47s
27. Dania Akeel (SAU) +79h 41m 40s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 51h 30m 08s
2. Ross Branch (BWA) +10m 53s
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA) +12m 25s
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG) +38m 48s
5. Toby Price (AUS) +45m 28s
7. Luciano Benavides (ARG) +53m 31s
8. Daniel Sanders (AUS) +1h 14m 32s
9. Štefan Svitko (SVK) +1h 56m 28s

SAINZ CLOSING IN ON VICTORY AS LOEB RUNS INTO MEC HANICAL TROUBLE!

DAY 14: Stage 11 – January 18, 2024

Route: AlUla > Yanbu – Liaison 107km and Special 420km

– Carlos Sainz all but assured himself a fourth Dakar Rally title on Thursday when his nearest rival Sébastien Loeb endured a nightmare Stage 11 and the Spaniard nursed his Audi RS Q e-tron car from AlUla to Yanbu with just one slow puncture. A huge special stage saw hard charging challengers going on the attack and Loeb – hunting his first elusive Dakar title – suffered with a damaged suspension on his Prodrive Hunter that saw him lose over an hour to Sainz on the day. Loeb, 49, said: “We lost more than one hour sitting on a rock. We thought that it was completely finished for us. Finally we were lucky that Yungang Zi came by in his Hunter and had the spare parts that we needed.”

– With Brazilian Lucas Moraes also slipping down the overall standings due to vehicle damage, Belgian Guillaume De Mevius vaulted up into second overall with Sainz’s lead now 1h 26m 06s. Second place on his Ultimate class debut would be a remarkable result for the 29-year-old, who is less than half the age of rally-raid legend Sainz and he clearly has a bright future ahead of him. He said: “We’re happy to be here with only one day left. We will see what’s going on behind and in front of us tomorrow.” Elsewhere, Astara driver Laia Sanz is not only hitting her target of a top-20 finish by currently sitting 17th overall, but she also has the third fastest two-wheel drive car in the race.

– In the Challenger class, Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška made his podium move on Thursday to leapfrog Chaleco López into third place behind leader Mitch Guthrie Jr. – who is on the verge of his first Dakar title for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team – with Spanish star Cristina Gutiérrez eating into the American’s lead by just under three minutes today. Baciuška, 24, said: “The stage was tough, every time stony, stony, stony. We did a good job and we moved into third in the general. I hope we can survive one more day. The target for today was to bring the car home in one piece.”

– On two wheels, the Red Bull riders could not make any serious inroads into the Honda trio who were in the podium places overall at the start of the day’s action. Argentine Luciano Benavides finished fourth and Australian Toby Price fifth as Botswana’s Ross Branch took 32 seconds out of American Ricky Brabec’s overall lead with a gutsy stage victory. Price, 36, said: “Everything felt really good, but the stones are really hard to get through at the moment. We didn’t have any big navigation mistakes today. Now we’ve got one stage to go and we’re getting close to the finish, that’s a nice feeling.”

– Friday’s final Stage 12 sees a timed special stage of 175km on the outskirts of Yanbu before the winners – along with every other competitor who crosses the finish line – will be honoured at a podium ceremony on the shoreline of the Red Sea.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 11

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 46h 24m 47s

2. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) +1h 26m 06s

3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +1h 36m 02s

Challenger Car

1. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) 51h 38m 06s

2. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +25m 07s

3. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) +1h 20m 55s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 49h 37m 57s

2. Ross Branch (BWA) +10m 22s

3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA) +14m 31s

SEBASTIAN LOEB CONTINUES TO CUT INTO SAINZ LEAD!

DAY 13: Stage 10 – January 17, 2024

Route: AlUla > AlUla – Liaison 241km and Special 371km

– With just three stages left at the start of Wednesday, there were plenty of challenges on the loop around the Stage 10 AlUla bivouac with the primary concern for competitors on four wheels – avoiding punctures. Brazilian Lucas Moraes was the best placed of the Ultimate podium challengers in 12th with Frenchman Sébastien Loeb cutting into leader Carlos Sainz’s advantage by seven minutes despite complications while changing his wheels. Loeb, who lies just 13m22s behind the Spaniard with two stages left, said: “We had two punctures. [To change the wheels] we had to climb among the rocks to find a way to be able to lift a rear tyre. I guess we lost about 15 minutes for this.”

– Three-time winner Sainz’s fellow Audi RS Q e-tron teammates may well have earned him a fourth Dakar title as he needed to borrow a spare tyre off Swede Mattias Ekström or he could have ended up waiting hours on the stage for his support truck. Fourteen-time Dakar champion Stéphane Peterhansel underlined the importance of this team support when he said: “We started with two punctures really quickly so this why we were not so fast. At the end Mattias arrived to Carlos because Carlos had three punctures and Mattias gave Carlos one or two wheels. Without these wheels, for sure, Carlos would be waiting a long time for the truck. That’s why it’s good to have three cars in the race.”

– Mitch Guthrie Jr. survived another day with a Challenger class lead as Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez could only take 32 seconds out of the American as she prepares to take on the 2025 Dakar in the Ultimate category with the duo finishing fifth and sixth respectively and Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška just ahead of them in fourth. Gutiérrez, 32, admitted: “The stage was not very good for us. We had two punctures in the first 200km, so that forced me to slow down a lot.” Guthrie Jr., 27, added: “We started to lose the brakes about 100k from the end. We managed that until the finish line.”

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 10

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 41h 35m 12s

2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +13m 22s

3. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +1h 02m 44s

Challenger Car

1. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) 46h 01m 50s

2. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +28m 03s

3. Francisco López Contardo (CHI) +1h 13m 48s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 44h 45m 28s

2. Ross Branch (BWA) +10m 54s

3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA) +11m 46s

CARLOS SAINZ SR. ADDS ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES TO HIS LEAD OVER SEBASTIAN LOEB.

DAY 11: Stage 8 – January 15, 2024

Route: Al Duwadimi > Ha’il – Liaison 220km and Special 458km

– It was another good day for the Benavides brothers on Monday as two-time bike winner Kevin set the fastest time and younger brother – by six-and-a-half years – Luciano finished second just 31 seconds behind. It didn’t elevate him in the overall standings, however Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Kevin is now 20m 31s back from American leader Ricky Brabec. Kevin, 35, said: “I feel good and I enjoyed my ride. The last part was fun. I did some good work and now we need to continue pushing.”

– Over in the Ultimate car category, leader Carlos Sainz managed to put a further five minutes into his nearest rival Sébastien Loeb overall with the Spaniard fourth over the 458km special distance as fellow Audi RS Q e-tron drivers Mattias Ekström and Stéphane Peterhansel finished in first and second respectively. Sainz, 61, said: “I think there’s still a long way for me and there are long stages to come. You can see how easy it is to lose five or 10 minutes on this race. It’s very stressful.”

– Brazilian Lucas Moraes of Toyota Gazoo Racing retained third overall as he looks to repeat his 2023 podium finish with Ultimate rookie Guillaume de Mévius half an hour behind in fourth overall and 2009 Dakar champion Giniel de Villiers of South Africa a further 10 minutes back in fifth. Moraes, 32, said: “It’s a great feeling to be riding with these legends here and we’ve got to keep fighting.” De Mévius, 29, added: “We had no problems with the car, no punctures and no navigation issues.”

– American leader Mitch Guthrie Jr. finished second on Stage Eight to marginally extend his lead over Spanish racer Cristina Gutiérrez to 34m 03s with every second valuable over the four remaining stages this week. The Taurus T3 Max driver, 27, said: “Now that we’re leading the overall the goal is to get to the finish line clean every day. It’s tough because you’re not quite sure how fast to go.” After winning two T3 stages last year, Gutiérrez added: “The most important thing is to be consistent and not make mistakes on the four stages that are still to come. We will try to go as fast as we can.”

– Tuesday’s 417-kilometre timed special stage between Ha’il and AlUla on Stage Nine will offer spectacular views all the way as the race for the overall podium heats up down the final stretch.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 8

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 33h 29m 10s
   2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +24m 47s
   3. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +1h 05m 13s

Challenger Car

1. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) 37h 08m 19s
   2. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +34m 03s
   3. Francisco López Contardo (CHI) +42m 51s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 36h 16m 31s
   2. Ross Branch (BWA) +42s
   3. José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (CHI) +4m 21s

SEBASTIAN LOEB CLOSING IN ON SAINZ SR.

DAY 10: Stage 7 – January 14, 2024

Route: Riyadh > Al Duwadimi – Liaison 390km and Special 483km

– American Mitch Guthrie Jr. consolidated his place at the top of the Challenger class standings on Sunday when he claimed victory on Stage 7 by five minutes and 38 seconds from Lithuanian rival Rokas Baciuška, who has given himself a shot of reaching the overall podium after a tough start at the 46th Dakar edition. Guthrie Jr., 27, said: “It was nice to have clean air in front of us so me and Kellon (Walch) could finally have some time to navigate… and no dust today. I’m happy to get to the finish.”

– Guthrie Jr.’s fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver Cristina Gutiérrez excelled again with the gap between the two Taurus drivers now at 33m36s with Chaleco López’s Can-Am a further 6m20s behind in third, while defending champion Austin ‘AJ Jones led for most of the stage before an issue at the 427km mark saw the Can-Am driver concede half an hour to the chasing pack back in fourth spot overall.

– In the Ultimate car category, the convoy got straight back to business on a 483-kilometre timed stage which took in a dizzying maze of desert canyons on the route between Riyadh and Al Duwadimi. Frenchman Sébastien Loeb made it back-to-back stage wins and took 10 minutes out of race leader Carlos Sainz, the gap between the two former WRC winners now standing at 19 minutes as Toyota GR DKR Hilux driver Lucas Moraes lies poised in third ready for any mistakes from them. Loeb, 49, said: “We were the first car and the navigation was really tricky, but we didn’t make any big mistakes. We had to make the line for the rest, but sometimes that’s better because you stay really concentrated.”

– Defending bike champion Kevin Benavides took seven minutes out of Ricky Brabec’s overall lead, moving to fifth overall and 21 minutes and 39 seconds off top spot for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as younger brother Luciano finished second on the day behind Chilean José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo. The Argentine, 35, said: “It was a tough stage. A lot of navigation over camel grass and stoney ground. I did good work with Luciano in finding the way. We need to continue like this until the end.”

– Monday’s 458-kilometre timed special stage on Stage Eight between Al Duwadimi and Ha’il sees stones replace sand as the dominant terrain, so the convoy will be on high alert over the rocks for punctures.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 7

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 30h 06m 42s
   2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +19m 00s
   3. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +1h 00m 35s

Challenger Car

1. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) 33h 29m 29s
   2. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +33m 36s
   3. Francisco López Contardo (CHI) +40m 16s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 32h 37m 20s
   2. Ross Branch (BWA) +1s
   3. José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (CHI) +6m 48s

SEBASTIAN LOEB WINS THE 48-HOUR CHRONO STAGE

DAY 8: Stage 6 – January 12, 2024

Route: Shubaytah > Shubaytah – Liaison 209km and Special 626km

– Carlos Sainz put all of his off-road racing experience into devising a strategy for the never-before-seen 48-hour Chrono Stage. By holding back on Stage Five the Audi RS Q e-tron driver booked himself a slot as the 17th car to start Stage Six and its two-day route through the dunes. The 61-year-old got his tactics spot on he finished Stage Six at the top of the general classification with a cushion of 20m21s over his nearest rival, fellow Team Audi Sport driver Mattias Ekström.

– Also proving tactically astute on the two-day stage around the Shubaytah bivouac was Sébastien Loeb who won the 25th stage of his Dakar career. This feat sees Loeb equal Hiroshi Masuoka as the driver with the sixth most Dakar stage wins

– The shock news on day two of the Chrono Stage was the massive time losses of defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. A broken steering arm saw the five-time Dakar winner lose close to three hours. While victory at this Dakar may now be out of sight, the Qatari is determined to fight on for valuable World Championship points.

– Mitch Guthrie Jr.’s mission for the second week in Saudi Arabia is clear… chip away at the time that separates him from Challenger class leader Eryk Goczal. Also looking to reel in Goczal on the way to Yanbu are Cristina Gutiérrez, Chaleco López and Austin ‘AJ’ Jones who sit third, fourth and fifth overall respectively.

– It’s been a determined effort throughout the first week of this Dakar by two-time Bike race champion Toby Price to stay in touch with the leaders. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider has reached the Rest Day with a string of three Top 5 stage results to put himself fifth overall with half of the rally still to go. Meanwhile, Price’s KTM team-mate Kevin Benavides is one place and 1m 33s behind him in the general classification. Both riders are less than half an hour behind current Bike race leader Ricky Brabec’s Honda.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 6

Ultimate Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 24h 59m 32s

2. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +20m 21s

3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +29m 31s

Challenger Car

1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 26h 18m 20s

2. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +1h 02m 18s

3. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +1h 26m 34s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 27h 11m 21s

2. Ross Branch (BWA) +51s

3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA) +9m 21s

CARLOS SAINZ SR. GOES ON THE ATTACK ON ALL NEW 48 HOUR CHRONO STAGE.

DAY 7: Stage 6 – January 11, 2024

Route: Shubaytah > Shubaytah – Liaison 209km and Special 626km

– Thursday’s leg of the all-new 48-hour Chrono Stage has already mixed up the order in the Ultimate category as Spanish legend Carlos Sainz went on the attack over the 250-metre-high dunes of the Empty Quarter desert. The three-time Dakar winner eased off yesterday to give himself a good starting position today and it worked a treat as he passed main rival Nasser Al-Attiyah – who had opened the stage – and also claimed the overall lead after Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi barrel rolled on the dunes.

– After equalling Ari Vatanen’s record of 50 Dakar car stage wins earlier in the week, Sainz’s fellow Team Audi Sport driver Stéphane Peterhansel did not enjoy the same fortune as the 14-time champion suffered severe mechanical trouble in his Audi RS Q e-tron at 225km and is now out of the running. The 58-year-old Frenchman said: “We had a puncture and the hydraulic jack system started playing up. We don’t have a hand jack, so we don’t know how we’re going to change the wheel. I’ve lost the power steering and I don’t know how we’re going to manage to pull through.”

– Despite the setback of a 17-minute time penalty, American charger Mitch Guthrie Jr. continues to take the fight to Challenger class leader Eryk Goczal with the Taurus T3 Max duo one and two for most of Stage Six’s opening day. Also still in the hunt for an overall podium spot in the Challenger class are Spanish racer Cristina Gutiérrez, American Austin Jones and multiple Dakar title winner Chaleco López.

– Bike quartet Kevin Benavides, Toby Price, Daniel Sanders and Luciano Benavides managed to stay in touch with the trio of Honda bikers ahead of them plus Ross Branch as Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla suffered a big time loss after running out of fuel 10km before the refuelling point.

– Tonight competitors will camp out in the desert before Stage Six draws to a close on Friday with the remaining convoy out to complete what remains of the timed special stage ahead of the much needed Rest Day.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings midway through Stage 6

Ultimate Car
1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 22h 56m 56s
2. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +16m 37s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +22m 20s

Challenger Car
1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 23h 16m 33s
2. Mitch Guthrie Jrs. (USA) +41m 41s
3. Marek Goczel (POL) +48m 26s

Bike
1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 24h 57m 14s
2. Ross Branch (BWA) +3m 34s
3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL) +5m 34s

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH TAKES DAKAR RALLY STAGE FIVE.

DAY 6: Stage 5 – January 10, 2024

Route: Al-Hofuf > Shubaytah: Liaison 527km and Special 118km

– Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has moved up the overall Ultimate classification this week now that he has adapted to his Prodrive Hunter car and he banked his first Dakar stage win in the new vehicle on Wednesday, after he broke clear to win by nearly two minutes. The Qatari, was the class act by the end of the 118km chain of special stage dunes following a monstrous liaison section in excess of 500km.

The 53-year-old, who lies nine minutes and three seconds behind Saudi home leader Yazeed Al Rahji, said: “Today I knew I needed to win the stage. Tomorrow is 600 kilometres and I don’t care if I open. Maybe I will lose some time, but the important thing is to finish the long stage that’s coming.”-

Ahead of Thursday’s new 48-hour Chrono Stage, Spanish legend Carlos Sainz, France’s Sébastien Loeb and Spain’s Laia Sanz slowed down to ensure a favourable starting position for tomorrow as there will be no bike tracks to follow due to FIA and FIM entrants following separate courses. Sainz finished behind the likes of Guillaume De Mevius, Giniel De Villiers and Mattias Ekström, but only trails Al Rajhi by 11 minutes and 31 seconds overall.

The 61-year-old veteran revealed: “I think we need to wait two days more until we find out who has the best strategy for the next stage.”- Multiple Dakar champion Chaleco López also collected his first Challenger stage win of the 46th edition with a storming performance that saw him finish two minutes and four seconds clear of fellow Can-Am driver Austin ‘AJ’ Jones as Polish race leader Eryk Goczal was pushed down into third on the stage. The 48-year-old Chilean, who now sits fourth overall, said: “This was a good day, the first good day for me at this year’s rally. Nothing bad happened to us today so I’m very happy.”

– After struggling early on during this year’s race, Australian duo Toby Price and Daniel Sanders came home third and fourth respectively to eat into Botswanan Ross Branch’s overall lead. With Argentine Luciano Benavides escaping a scary finish elsewhere, which saw his engine repeatedly cutting out, Price said: “The stage was quite tricky, there were a lot of drops in there. We got through with a decent pace. I missed a couple of the drops and that got the heart rate up a little bit.”

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 5

Ultimate Car
1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) 17h 24m 04s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +9m 03s
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +11m 31s

Challenger Car
1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 19h 01m 18s
2. Marek Goczel (POL) +34m 50s
3. Mitch Guthrie Jrs. (USA) +39m 46s

Bike
1. Ross Branch (BWA) 19h 05m 03s
2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL) +1m 14s
3. Ricky Brabec (USA) +3m 47s

SEBASTIAN LOEB TAKES HIS 24^TH DAKAR STAGE WIN TO MOVE SIXTH OVERALL.

DAY 5: Stage 4 – January 9, 2024

– The Prodrive Hunter duo of Sébastien Loeb and reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah were the big Ultimate movers on Stage 4 as the convoy were faced with tricky navigation obstacles. Frenchman Loeb claimed his 24th Dakar stage win to move sixth overall as Qatari Al-Attiyah avoided his recent puncture problems to climb even higher into third.

Nine-time WRC champion Loeb, 49, said: “We were a bit in the dust because we started far from the front and had to overtake a lot of cars. Except from this and going back to get one waypoint, it was a very good stage.”

– In the Challenger class, American Mitch Guthrie Jr. produced a storming stage display to keep pace with Polish leader Eryk Goczal only to be hit with a 17-minute time penalty for a combination of a missed waypoint and excessive speed. Despite that, the 27-year-old was bullish about his chances after finishing 36m 23s back overall in his Taurus T3 Max.

He said: “It had a little bit of everything, but the main thing was full speed. The navigation section in the middle got us a little, but other than that a clean stage. So far we’re hitting our goal of good finishes every single day.”

– Wednesday’s Stage 5 sees an early start with a long liaison section of 527km before the timed special stage, which encompasses a 118km race among the towering dunes of the Empty Quarter desert.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 4

Ultimate Car
1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) 15h 44m 39s
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +4m 29s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +11m 03s

Challenger Car
1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 17h 18m 25s
2. Marek Goczel (POL) +30m 55s
3. Mitch Guthrie Jrs. (USA) +36m 23s

Bike
1. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL) 17h 27m 13s
2. Ross Branch (BWA) +1m 15s
3. Ricky Brabec (USA) +4m 56s

LUCAS MORAES GRABBED HIS FIRST DAKAR STAGE VICTORY AS YAZEED AL-RAJHI FINISHED THIRD TO TAKE THE OVERALL LEAD IN THE CAR CLASS.

DAY 4: Stage 3 – January 8, 2024

– Another mammoth challenge awaited the convoy on Monday’s Stage 3 with a huge variety of terrain covered on the special stage ahead of the remaining 299km of the Marathon Stage on Tuesday. One person who will not forget today in a hurry is Brazilian Lucas Moraes, who claimed his first Ultimate category stage victory driving the Toyota GR DKR Hilux with co-driver Armand Monleon alongside him. Moraes, 32, said:

“It’s an unbelievable feeling and I have to give it up for Armand and the team for the work they’ve done. I dedicate this victory to my daughter who has been in hospital the last four days, but now she’s better. It was very tough for me being away from home but now this win means a lot.”

– The drivers behind Moraes went all out in the race for overall Ultimate positions with three-time winner Carlos Sainz nearly overturning his Audi RS Q e-tron as he finished sixth to put himself just 29 seconds behind early leader Yazeed Al Rajhi, who is excelling on home soil. Spaniard Sainz, 61, revealed: “We had a problem with navigation at the beginning and lost five minutes. Then I was really going fast and reached the dust of Mattias (Ekström). Then I hit a hole and nearly rolled the car.”

– American Mitch Guthrie Jr. set a blistering pace in his Taurus T3 Max to bank his first Challenger class stage win of the year and cut the gap to Polish leader Eryk Goczal as fast charging Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez moved up to fourth overall behind him. Guthrie Jr., 27, declared: “We were pushing hard with a group of guys at the front of the Challenger class. Our goal for this rally is to have clean days and this was another one.”

– Argentine Kevin Benavides was the class act on two wheels as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider finished one minute and 11 seconds ahead of American Ricky Brabec as teammate Toby Price edged a top-10 finish in ninth. Benavides now climbs above the Australian into sixth overall with Daniel Sanders eighth and Luciano Benavides ninth as Sam Sunderland suffered with mechanical problems. Defending champion Kevin, who broke a bone in his leg training just one month ago, said: “I started very focused on my navigation. It was a long stage and I worked hard all day.”

– Tuesday’s Stage 4 sees the field tackle the remaining 299km special stage laid out between Al Salamiya and Al Hofuf before race vehicles can receive a proper service from their mechanic crews.

2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 3

Ultimate Car
1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) 13h 07m 29s
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +29s
3. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +8m 26s

Challenger Car
1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 14h 19m 57s
2. Marek Goczel (POL) +15m 47s
3. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +15m 58s

Bike
1. Ross Branch (BWA) 14h 32m 51s
2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL) +3m 11s
3. Ricky Brabec (USA) +5m 08s