Toby Price P3 at Dakar Stage 6 | Sanders back in top-10

2023 Dakar Rally – Stage 6
Ha’il – Al Duwadimi

Images Rally Zone

Stage Six of the 2023 Dakar Rally saw heavy rain cause riders to be rerouted to Riyadh, with the timed special shortened to 358 km, with total distance covered being 768 km, about 100 km less than originally planned. Dunes and sandy tracks were the main terrain that saw Toby Price finish third behind the Husqvarna duo of Luciano Benavides and Skyler Howes.

Organisers have also now confirmed the Stage Seven special has been cancelled for bikes and quads as they were unable to complete installation of the bivouac at Al Duwadimi due to weather, also citing rider fatigue as an excuse.

Price set about chasing down the two riders ahead of him right from the start of the day’s special. With the times among the front runners proving to be especially close 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 refuelling however, the Australian pushed on and moved back up the leaderboard to ultimately complete the stage third.

Toby Price – P3

“That’s another day ticked off – it has certainly been a long one! I had that crash yesterday, so I’ve been a little bit sore on my back and took it a touch easier today. But all in all, everything is going well so far. We’ve got the marathon stage tomorrow, so that is always a big test to look after yourself and the bike. Hopefully it’s not as cold as it has been over the last few days, but we’ll do our best, get through it as always, and keep having fun.”

For fellow Australian Daniel Sanders, energy levels were slowly recovering after being struck with illness before Stage Five, and he made it known today that he’s not out of the running in the race for victory at the 2023 Dakar Rally.

Clocking in as the seventh-fastest rider on today’s stage six, just three minutes behind the stage winner, it was a perfect execution of damage limitation by the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing star who remains eighth in the provisional standings.

Daniel Sanders – P6

“Hopefully, I can get over this in the next couple of days. I’m so sick. It was just a tough day in the dunes and I’m lucky it was smoother than yesterday. I tried to recover last night as much as I could. I just pretty much got back to the camper and jumped straight into bed, then slept until this morning when I woke up. I didn’t eat any food last night and I only had a small bit of breakfast this morning, so it was a tough day. But, I just kept pushing on and made it to the finish. I sort of felt bad the day before and the other night it just hit me. I don’t know what it is. I’ll just go back and recharge again. It could be food poisoning or maybe the thorn I’ve got stuck in my arm. I think I’m going to have it cut out tonight in case it’s poisoning me. We’ll take it out and then only other thing it can be is food poisoning, or I got some dirt or dirty water in my mouth during the race, I’m not sure. It’s a bit of a bummer, but we’ve got a long race to go. Hopefully, I can get over this in the next couple of days and come good for the finish.”

The day was an extremely successful one in the Saudi desert for Husqvarna Factory Racing, Luciano Benavides posted the fastest time on Friday’s 358-kilometre timed special to earn his first ever Dakar Rally stage win. Finishing as runner-up to his teammate, Skyler Howes increased his lead in the provisional overall standings through today’s dunes.

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.

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Luciano Benavides – P1

“I feel amazing, to take my first stage win at the Dakar means a lot to me. It’s a really special day. I knew it would be really tight today, so I pushed a lot, right from the start. Everything went well, I gave my all, and I was able to post the fastest time. It means I’m opening tomorrow’s stage but I’m looking forward to it.”

Enjoying the stage and putting in another strong performance, Skyler Howes demonstrated why he currently sits top of the general rankings. The American navigated his way through the tracks and dunes of the stage to finish just under one minute short of the hard-charging Benavides.

Skyler Howes – P2

“I really enjoyed today. The stage was actually really good fun as the dunes had plenty of traction and you could jump off the top of each one. I knew with the stage being a little shorter that times would be tight, but I just approached it like every day – do my best, try to minimise any mistakes, and try to stick to a good, solid pace. The fact that I’m leading the race wasn’t really on my mind, there is still along way to go yet. It’s been a long day, with a lot of seat time due to the liaisons, but I feel good, the bike is performing great and I’m ready for the first half of the marathon stage tomorrow.”

Joan Barreda finished the day in fourth, behind Toby Price, recovering from his crash, that also caught up the Aussie.

The day started differently for 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.

Kevin Benavides – P5

“Another long day and another day of trying my best out there. The level is so high right now so you can barely afford to lose time or ease off on any of the stages. The times are so close, but we’re still early in the race and there is a really long way to go. I’ll try and keep up this pace and stay consistent and hopefully nearer the end, I’ll still be well in the fight for the top places.”

Pablo Quintanilla was the fastest Monster Energy Honda Team rider on the chronograph, with a sixth place (2:52s gap).

Pablo Quintanilla – P6

“It was another very hard and long day, quite similar to what we have faced yesterday and the day before. Dunes, sandy, piste, vegetation and some tricky points for navigation. It was rough for the body and also for the machine. I felt good and could ride all day in a good rhythm, riding alone. So I will keep focused on my own race and do my best.”

José Ignacio Cornejo was opening the track (after he finished second yesterday) and was eighth (3:15s gap) for the day, behind Daniel Sanders.

José Ignacio Cornejo – P8

“Today was quite an adventure! We were opening the track and I think we did a great job. We finish in a good position for tomorrow and I am glad I could face this intense 12 hours in my Honda CRF 450 Rally and be back safe at the bivouac”.

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 – P10

“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.”

Adrien Van Beveren had to open the track after his previous stage win and had a regular day, finishing 11th, 4m22s off the lead.

Adrien Van Beveren – P11

“Considering that I had to open the stage, I am very happy. It was a good day. I was opening almost 200 kilometers and then I made a little mistake, but was able to go back and continue at a good pace until the end”.

Rally GP Rankings after Dakar Stage 6

Skyler Howes leads the Dakar Rally 2023 following Stage Six, 3m31s clear of Toby Price, with third placed Kevin Benavides 7m01s off the overall lead. Joan Barreda and Adrien Van Beveren rounded out the top five, 10m57s and 12m20s in arrears respectively.

Pablo Quintanilla and Mason Klein were sixth and seventh, while Daniel Sanders is now eighth, Luciano Benavides and Jose Cornejo the final riders in the top-10, which covers a 24m23s gap from first through 10th.

Stage 6 Highlights Video

Stage 7 Route

The Dakar Rally have announced that the Stage 7 special has been cancelled for bikes and quads on Twitter:

🏍❌ BIKE RACE: STAGE 7 CANCELLED ❌🏍

Faced with the weather problems experienced again today and the level of tiredness observed among all the riders in the category, the Dakar organizers have decided to cancel the special for stage seven between Riyadh and Al Duwadimi.

👇➕ pic.twitter.com/m9LeOJpPCU

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 6, 2023

Stage Seven would have marked the first half of the event’s marathon stage. The bikes and quads have instead been invited to leave the bivouac in Riyadh from 10 am to take the road section to Al Duwadimi.

On Sunday January 8, they will contest stage 8 as rescheduled, with the special of stage 7 from the initial route, reduced to a length of 345 kilometres.

2023 Dakar Rally Stage 6 Results (Provisional)

2023 Dakar Rally Overall After Stage 6

2023 Dakar Rally Schedule