Branch heads Brabec after Dakar stage one

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage One
Alula > Al Henakiyah

The first full stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally proved a challenging one, seasoned rider Joaquim Rodrigues crashing out of the race at km 82, while budding talent Tosha Schareina bowed out of his third Dakar 240 kilometres into the stage with a fractured arm.

The opening stage continued where the prologue left off with a mix of rocks and sandy terrain around the canyons early on.

The 414 km special was ridden around an exhilarating environment of old volcanos and lava slabs as riders made their way from AlUla to the next bivouac at Al Henakiyah while contending with a mixture of dry river crossings, gravel tracks and rocky sections.

Ross Branch was fastest for the day, earning his career fourth Dakar stage win, the Botswanan airline pilot who moonlights as a rally-raid racer, surged ahead to now hold a 12-minute margin over 2020 Dakar champion, Ricky Brabec. The American was on a mission spending most of the stage amongst the front runners as he looked to move up the overall ranking, Brabec using his experience to take a well-deserved second place at the end of the day.

Mason Klein had the task of opening the road and spent the entire stage alone at the front on the Chinese built Kove machine.

Ricky Brabec – P2

“You couldn’t even count the amount of rocks out there and when you’re trying to dodge them and read your notes it’s tough. You don’t want to crash on the rocks, you don’t want to miss a note so it’s finding that balance. The navigation was hard today and so was the riding. The plan for tomorrow is just to make it to the next bivouac without making any big mistakes.”

Mason Klein was not even sure that he would be able to start his third Dakar on his brand-new second-generation Kove after his motorcycle was stuck in customs in Dubai, but his Chinese mount finally arrived a few hours before the gong rang on the technical scrutineering. The American finished in the top 10 in the prologue and picked his starting order for stage 1. The 22-year-old privateer chose to start first, a position typically avoided by Rally GP riders and a position that would have usually gone to Skyler Howes, the worst performer in the opening romp.

Mason Klein – P3

“The idea of opening the first stage at the Dakar is really cool so, in the end, no regrets because now I can say I’ve done it. This is my third time on the bike now and I couldn’t be happier.”

Klein again showed that he is a box full of surprises, not just because he spent the 400 km long hard slog alone at the front, picking up 6′21″ in bonuses and third place at the finish, but also because he did it on a motorbike that he had barely even touched before.

It was a positive day for Jose Ignacio Cornejo finishing the stage fifth behind Bradley Cox, despite it not being his favoured terrain he would keep up a relentless pace to be at the sharp end with fellow Chilean Pablo Quintanilla also swapping places at the top. Towards the latter end of the day’s action Quintanilla would drop down to ninth, difficulty in navigation causing him to lose over twenty minutes to stage winner Ross Branch.

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José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo – P5

“I felt very good during the stage one that I think we haven’t seen before on the Dakar. There were many kilometres of stones on the route and if you went off the track there were even more of them. Even though it doesn’t necessarily suit my riding style I felt quite confident riding most of the stage with Ricky.”

In sixth and seventh were Romain Dumontier (Team Dumontier Racing) and Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco Rally Factory).

Setting off 22nd into the stage after his ninth-place result on the prologue, Benavides maintained his position safely inside the top 10 for the full length of the special. Choosing not to push too hard on the first day of competition, Kevin used his experience to deliver a safe but solid ride to eighth place.

Kevin Benavides – P8

“Today was a really, really tough stage, especially for day one of the race. We had a lot of different terrains to cover including sandy areas, rivers, and sandstone. After the refueling, there was a lot of black stone from the volcanoes too. I tried to do a good job of navigating through safely and not making any mistakes. I think my pace was strong and I felt good on the bike. My goal for today was to get settled in and put in a good, solid stage. We have a long, long way to go.”

Daniel Sanders arrived with confidence and clearly hadn’t lost any of his raw speed. After finishing as a close runner-up on yesterday’s prologue, the Aussie carried that momentum into the first proper stage of the Dakar to post the ninth-fastest time. With the first timed special now done and dusted, Sanders lies ninth overall and less than five minutes adrift of the early rally leader. Team-mate Sam Sunderland meanwhile sits 14th.

Daniel Sanders – P9

“We were rock ‘n’ rolling out there today! I wish I set the bike up a little differently for today as for the first stage, it was pretty gnarly. It kinda feels like we’ve done five days already! The priority for today was to not crash and I didn’t, so I was happy to reach the finish with no problems. With the team we’ll make a few bike set-up changes for tomorrow and go again.”

Adrien Van Beveren finished ninth, team-mate Quintanilla maintaining a cautious pace in the stony areas to make sure he got to the finish without issue, for 11th.

Adrien Van Beveren – P10

“It was a really tough stage, not fun at all with a lot of loose stones. There’s one thing to ride in the stones but when they’re unpredictable you’re just expecting to fly off the bike. It’s part of the Dakar though and we just have to manage to get to the end of each day. Despite this I didn’t lose too much time today so I’m still in the game ready to go again tomorrow.”

Pablo Quintanilla – P11

“There have been some very inconspicuous and quite dangerous roads on this stage with quite difficult navigation. What I thought would be the most difficult part of the day was quite positive and we finished the day without major problems. I am very sorry about Tosha because he is a great rider who has been doing an extraordinary job and I have no doubt that he will continue to do so.”

Taking part in his 10th Dakar Rally, Toby Price knows that the race is never won on the first day. A solid start to the special saw the Aussie post times inside the top 10 through to the 225-kilometre mark.

A small technical issue at 70 kilometres before the refuelling stop cost the 36-year-old around seven-minutes to his rivals, dropping Price down the time-sheets. With the problem rectified, Toby refocused and was able to claw back some time over the latter half of the special, ultimately completing the day in 16th place.

Toby Price – P16

“They promised rocks today and it was definitely rocky – it was all quite tricky to get through while staying focused on the roadbook. I did have a small issue before the refuelling that cost me some minutes, but thankfully I was able to fix that and carry on afterwards. I’ve lost a little bit of time on the early leaders, but I’m here safe at the finish and we have a lot of kilometres to race ahead of us. Today’s stage has already shown that the Dakar is tough and can throw up some surprises, so my plan, as always, is to stay consistent and do my best day by day.”

Riders will be resting up at Al Henakiyah, recharging before the third day of rallying where there’ll be even more mileage on the cards for stage two.  Riders will rack up a total of 655 km as they’ll be put through their paces on a 463 km special with an increased road section making up the numbers.

The dune surfers will enjoy 30 km of sand mixed with long, fast stretches from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi.  This is only just the beginning of what the next longer stages will bring as it’ll be a proper test of man and machine in the Saudi Arabian heat.

Dakar 2024 Stage One Results

Dakar 2024 Standings after Stage One

To complete the first week of the race, a new stage format has been invented over two days, plunging the riders into a unique experience in the heart of the Empty Quarter. Setting off from Shubaytah, separate specials have been prepared for the bikes/quads and cars/trucks: 620 km to be covered over two days for the former and 570 km for the others.

As regards the FIM competitors, a specific rule has been drawn up for the Rally GP riders, who will start out in reverse order of the previous day’s ranking.

In this vast desert of dunes, seven very basic bivouacs spread over six geographical points will be set up to welcome the riders and drivers. They will be obliged to stop as soon as they reach one of them once the cut-off time of 1600 has passed. On site, they will be given an allowance of 6 litres of water, a tent, a floor mat, a sleeping bag and a survival ration. Furthermore, these “rest zones” are totally isolated in terms of connections and telephone networks: the leading riders and drivers will have few clues as to the performances of their rivals! The following day at dawn, the competitors will start at one-minute intervals in the order they arrived at the bivouac.

The bonuses for riders opening the way has been increased to 1.5 seconds per kilometre, in order to decrease the advantage that a rider may have been tempted to take the day before by slowing before entering the rest zone in order to start the next day in second place rather than out in front.

On the return to Shubaytah, the riders will finally be able to await the finishes of their rivals to discover whether their performance has been good or bad in terms of the general rankings. A plane will then take them to Riyadh, where they will at last be able to rest!

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule