2023 Dakar Rally – Stage 11
Shaybah – Empty Quarter Marathon
Images by Rally Zone
Thursday’s Stage 11 of the 2023 Dakar Rally saw Luciano Benavides win the day ahead of Aussies Daniel Sanders and Toby Price.
Riders competed the first of two marathon stages on Thursday, covering a 273 km selective section with 151 km of liaison, mainly across dunes.
Competitors will have zero outside mechanical assistance tonight before Friday’s Stage 12 that sees another dune battle over 185 km heading to the bivouac at Shaybah.
As the 12th rider into the 274-km timed special, Sanders benefitted from chasing the leading riders, advancing to seventh in the provisional standings on the back of being second fastest on Thursday.
Daniel Sanders – P2
“Today wasn’t too bad. It took a little while for me to get up to speed and then at around km 40 there was a tricky note in the roadbook. I slowed up a little to make sure I was heading in the right direction and then pushed on to refuelling. After that I rode with Luciano Benavides for the rest of the stage which was good, and it was a good gauge of knowing the speed up front. Second’s decent enough ahead of tomorrow’s shorter stage. I’ve just checked the bike over, all the fluids and everything, and it’s in great shape so I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
Toby Price was the 19th rider to enter today’s special, making steady progress, ultimately posting the third-fastest time for the stage, just under two-minutes down on the leader, bumping Price back up to second overall in the provisional standings.
Toby Price – P3
“I think the stage went well for me today, I was able to get a little bit of time back and that puts me in good contention for the podium places still. I’m feeling in good shape and the bike is perfect, so no issues there. Starting back a little bit definitely helped today. I did make a little mistake early on, like a couple of the guys in front I think, but was able to correct it pretty quickly and carry on. I just took it quite steady today – pushed where it was safe to do so and then eased off a bit to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. I’ll be third away for tomorrow, which isn’t too bad, so I’ll keep on fighting and see where we end up.”
On a hugely successful day 11 in the Saudi desert for Husqvarna Factory Racing, Luciano Benavides has claimed his third stage win of the event. Team-mate Skyler Howes rode to an impressive fourth, making for two Husqvarna Factory Racing riders in the top four.
Luciano Benavides – P1
“It was a really, really nice stage. I enjoyed racing through the dunes and was able to make up good time, too. There was a big variety today, some of the dunes were really big and in between the ground was very hard to judge as well, with lots of softer areas that could catch you out. The navigation was not too difficult today, the challenge came from trying to find the fastest line through the dunes. I did a good job and was able to make up some more time, which is great. I’m leading out again tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
Skyler Howes – P4
“It was a really fast stage today with lots of dunes – lots of big dunes! I found a good rhythm out there and was making good progress. I did get stuck in the soft sand on a couple of dunes and had to turn around to attack those again. There was one waypoint that I had to circle around to get properly as well. The bike is in great condition, which is great for the marathon stage, I just need to stay focused because the times in the standings are really close. I think it’s going to be like this all the way to the finish, which makes it pretty exciting.”
The best Monster Energy Honda Team rider was Pablo Quintanilla, fifth, 2min54s off the pace.
Pablo Quintanilla – P5
“It was not an easy day, the sand was too soft and sometimes it was hard to climb the dunes. Anyway I was at a good pace and I think I did a good stage. The first part of the marathon stage is done and my Honda CRF 450 Rally is without any damage, so I am ready to continue tomorrow.”
Sebastian Buhler was sixth for the day, just over five-minutes off the lead, followed by Romain Dumontier, Lorenzo Santolino and Franco Caimi.
In contrast to his team-mate Toby Price, Kevin Benavides set off near the front of today’s stage, and with little in the way of tracks ahead of him, the Argentinian had to carefully navigate his way through the dunes of the special but still managed to finish tenth on Thursday’s stage.
Kevin Benavides – P10
“Another tough day and the first part of the marathon stage today. I started in fourth position and tried to push straight away. I did a good job, I caught the guys in front after refuelling, and from there we rode together for the last 80 km or so. The bike is all ready in the parc fermé and I have a good start position for tomorrow, so it’s just a case of trying to make up time and stay in the fight.”
Daniel Jager was 11th, Tosha Schareina 12th and Matthias Walkner was 13th for the stage.
Matthias Walkner – P13
“I had a good stage today. It was good fun riding in the Empty Quarter for the second day and it certainly lived up to its name as there was nothing to see for miles around. I made a bit of a mistake early on that cost me some minutes, but then I managed to get stuck in a pocket of soft sand that took a little while to get out of. There is no contrast at all in the desert and you never know when something like this will happen. I pushed hard after refueling to make up time, and that was great fun jumping off the dunes. It really was a beautiful stage. I have a good start position for tomorrow, so I’ll aim for a top-three finish.”
José Ignacio Cornejo finished the day in 14th, with team-mate Adrien Van Beveren 17th, +8m36s and +9m10s off the stage’s leading pace.
José Ignacio Cornejo – P14
“I made some navigation mistakes and lost around eight minutes. I am not happy about that, but that’s what it is. I will stay focused on climbing on the overall standings and keep fighting until the end. This is Dakar and I have to maintain my goal.”
Adrien Van Beveren – P17
“It was a good day, I caught Ross at km 40 then I opened almost all the stage. I feel good and I feel fast on this terrain but when you open you always lose time. For sure I am doing my best every day and every minute and we will see how it goes.”
Rankings after Dakar Stage 11
Skyler Howes has moved into the overall lead after the provisional Stage 11 results, with Toby Price moving up to second outright and only 28s off the lead. Wednesday’s leader Kevin Benavides dropped to third, trailing by 2m44s.
Pablo Quintanilla now sits a more distant fourth (+14m14s), Adrien Van Beveren fifth (15m24s), Luciano Benavides sixth (18m06s) and Daniel Sanders has moved up seventh from ninth (+21m04s).
Jose Cornejo, Mason Klein and Matthias Walker round on the top-10, with Walkner 44m45s off the lead.
Stage 12 Route
The second part of the marathon stage will take place on Friday with the return to Shaybah on stage 12. Along the 185 km of this selective section (added by a liaison of 188 km) there will be a focus on the tactical acumen of the riders. With just three days to go in this Dakar Rally 2023 it is certainly time to attack in every dune!
Stage 11 Highlights Video
2023 Dakar Rally Stage Results (Provisional)
| Pos | Rider/Nat | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | 02H 57′ 59” |
| 2 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 01′ 38” |
| 3 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | + 00H 01′ 56” |
| 4 | (USA) SKYLER HOWES | + 00H 02′ 09” |
| 5 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 02′ 54” |
| 6 | (DEU) SEBASTIAN BÜHLER | + 00H 05′ 06” |
| 7 | (FRA) ROMAIN DUMONTIER | + 00H 05′ 34” |
| 8 | (ESP) LORENZO SANTOLINO | + 00H 05′ 43” |
| 9 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 00H 05′ 58” |
| 10 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 06′ 22” |
| 11 | (BOL) DANIEL NOSIGLIA JAGER | + 00H 07′ 58” |
| 12 | (ESP) TOSHA SCHAREINA | + 00H 08′ 01” |
| 13 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 08′ 34” |
| 14 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | + 00H 08′ 36” |
| 15 | (ZAF) MICHAEL DOCHERTY | + 00H 08′ 37” |
2023 Dakar Rally Overall After Stage 11 (Provisional)
| Pos | Rider/Nat | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (USA) SKYLER HOWES | 38H 47′ 43” |
| 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | + 00H 00′ 28” |
| 3 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 02′ 44” |
| 4 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 14′ 14” |
| 5 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | + 00H 15′ 24” |
| 6 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | + 00H 18′ 06” |
| 7 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 21′ 40” |
| 8 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | + 00H 25′ 40” |
| 9 | (USA) MASON KLEIN | + 00H 31′ 35” |
| 10 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 44′ 45” |
| 11 | (ESP) LORENZO SANTOLINO | + 00H 59′ 00” |
| 12 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 01H 22′ 57” |
| 13 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | + 01H 23′ 09” |
| 14 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | + 01H 32′ 06” |
| 15 | (ESP) TOSHA SCHAREINA | + 01H 46′ 00” |
2023 Dakar Rally Schedule
| Stage | Date | Start and Finish | Total | Special |
| REST | January 9, 2023 | RIYADH | |
| STAGE 12 | January 13, 2023 | EMPTY QUARTER MARATHON > SHAYBAH | 375 km | 185 km |
| STAGE 13 | January 14, 2023 | SHAYBAH > AL-HOFUF | 669 km | 154 km |
| STAGE 14 | January 15, 2023 | AL-HOFUF > DAMMAM | 414 km | 136 km |
