2023 Dakar Rally – Stage 12
Empty Quarter Marathon – Shaybah
Images by Rally Zone
Friday’s Stage 12 of the 2023 Dakar Rally proved a great one for Monster Energy Honda Team’s José Ignacio Cornejo, taking the overall win, but once again the Aussie duo of Daniel Sanders and Toby Price claimed second and third on their GASGAS and KTM machinery respectively.
Just under a minute separated Cornejo and Sanders, and almost two-minutes Cornejo and Price, with the stage featuring a 185 special km of dunes and quick sand tracks, as the second part of the marathon.
With only two stages to go, the result moved Toby Price into the overall lead, now 28s clear of Skyler Howes.
Toby Price – P3
“The marathon stage has gone well. I have to admit, I didn’t sleep that well yesterday, but I gave it my all out there on the dunes. I wasn’t sure of the result when I came in to the finish today, but it looks like I’m back on top, leading the race. It’s a really close race right now and even the smallest problem could cost you the win. My plan is to keep on pushing over the next two days and try and have some fun.”
Chucky opened almost all of the special, which left wheel tracks in the dunes for his chasing rivals to follow, clawing back more time on the leaders to retain seventh overall, but still needing to find almost 20-minutes in the remaining two stages to move into the lead, or about 17-minutes for a top three position.
Daniel Sanders – P2
“Yeah, today was pretty good actually. It was a fun stage and early on I caught up with Luciano Benavides. I had a decent pace going so I kept that up and opened the stage all day. I’m happy to reach the finish line today with it being the second leg of the marathon stage and I’m looking forward to the final two days.”
José Ignacio Cornejo was the man of the day during the second part of the marathon stage at the Empty Quarter, taking the stage win.
José Ignacio Cornejo – P1
“Well today I had a good stage, quite solid. Felt quite good on my Honda CRF 450 Rally and tried to push as much as I could. I had a lot of fun in the dunes. I have won a stage and that feels good, especially for my confidence. This did not influence the overall results due to the short distances between all contenders, so I kept my eighth place. I will keep fighting in the last two days because this is Dakar and anything can happen. ”each the finish line today with it being the second leg of the marathon stage and I’m looking forward to the final two days.”
Making for a KTM 3-4-5 behind Price were Kevin Benavides and Matthias Walkner, 2m05s and 2m22s off the stage lead.
Matthias Walkner – P4
“It was a super-nice stage today. Honestly, the dunes here in the Empty Quarter are really, really nice. It was quite intense, not so long, but with all the soft sand you have to push a lot and it’s still very physical. As we ride more here it becomes easier to judge and read the terrain. Nacho (Cornejo) caught me today and it was such good fun riding through the dunes together. With only two days of the rally left now, my goal is to simply have fun, do my best, and reach the finish line safely. I plan to enjoy it!”
Kevin Benavides – P5
“The marathon stage went really well for me. Both halves were made up mostly of dunes, so they were a real challenge, but good fun to ride, too. Today I started a little further back, so I tried to keep a good flow through the dunes to make up some time without making any big mistakes. I think I did a good job, and I have got a good start position for tomorrow, which I think will be a really decisive stage in the race.”
Skyler Howes delivered another cool, calculated ride in Saudi Arabia to complete stage 12 in sixth position and minimise his deficit to the provisional rally leader
Skyler Howes – P6
“A good stage for me today. The Empty Quarter really does live up to its name – just an endless sea of dunes. It’s really exciting to go into the last couple of days with the race so close. Both halves of the marathon stage went well – I think I was able to ride both days at a good, consistent pace. I was able to preserve myself and the bike without any issues, which is super important. So now I’m looking ahead at the last two stages of the race. Neither of them are very long, so with things so tight on the leaderboard, I really think this battle is going to run right up to the finish line.”
Pablo Quintanilla arrived in seventh position with a gap of 03m06s.
Pablo Quintanilla – P7
“First of all I would like to say that we have done the marathon stage without any problems in our Honda CRF 450 Rally. It was quite hard to cross the Empty Quarter and we all succeeded. The terrain was super hard for the machines and for us. Happy to finish one more day. The race is not over yet so let’s keep the focus.”
Sebastian Byhler was eighth, 3m08s off the lead and just two-seconds behind Quintanilla, with Adrien Van Beveren ninth another eight-seconds back.
Adrien Van Beveren – P9
“Today I started behind but did not have that much dunes to race. The stage was shorter and I went as fast as I could go. Dakar is never finished until you cross the line so let’s see what we can do. I will do my best until the last meter, that is for sure!”
Ross Branch rounded out the top-10 for the day, ahead of Tosha Shareina, while Husqvarna rider Luciano Benavides was 12th.
Luciano Benavides – P12
“Yesterday was an amazing stage for me. My third stage win at the Dakar and I really had a lot of fun racing through the desert, jumping off all the dunes. Obviously today I had to open the stage, but I’m really happy as I think I did a good job and didn’t lose much time at all in the overall. The stage was very similar to yesterday, I just had to take extra care not to make any navigation mistakes and I had to focus on reading the terrain well, too. I’ll get a bit of rest now before tomorrow, where I’ve got another strong start position, so another push, and I hope to finish the day in a strong position.”
Rankings after Dakar Stage 12
Australia’s Toby Price now leads the 2023 Dakar Rally after 12 stages, 28s clear of Skyler Howes, with KTM teammate Kevin Benavides rounding out the top three (+2m40s).
Honda’s Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Van Beveren were fourth and fifth, 15- and 16-minutes off the overall lead, while Luciano Benavides and Daniel Sanders are separate by just three-seconds in sixth and seventh, 20-minutes in arrears.
Jose Cornejo, Matthias Walkner and Mason Klein round out the top-10, with Klein having a rough Stage 12 run.
Stage 13 Route
With only two more days to go, tomorrow it’s time for the 13th stage. There will be a very long liaison of 520 km in the connection between Shaybah and Al-Hofuf. The special section will be 153 km long and this departure from the Empty Quarter will certainly be decisive. It will be the last chance to surf on its chain of dunes and also to fight for the top standings. It will be a short but quite intense ride where physical and mechanical endurance can play an important role.
Stage 12 Highlights Video
2023 Dakar Rally Stage 12 Results
| Pos | Rider/Nat. | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | 01H 57′ 27” |
| 2 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 00′ 49” |
| 3 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | + 00H 01′ 58” |
| 4 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 02′ 05” |
| 5 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 02′ 22” |
| 6 | (USA) SKYLER HOWES | + 00H 02′ 54” |
| 7 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 03′ 06” |
| 8 | (DEU) SEBASTIAN BÜHLER | + 00H 03′ 08” |
| 9 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | + 00H 03′ 16” |
| 10 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | + 00H 03′ 21” |
| 11 | (ESP) TOSHA SCHAREINA | + 00H 03′ 59” |
| 12 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | + 00H 04′ 20” |
| 13 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 00H 04′ 30” |
| 14 | (FRA) ROMAIN DUMONTIER | + 00H 04′ 50” |
| 15 | (ZAF) MICHAEL DOCHERTY | + 00H 04′ 50” |
2023 Dakar Rally Overall After Stage 12
| Pos | Rider/Nat. | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | 40H 47′ 36” |
| 2 | (USA) SKYLER HOWES | + 00H 00′ 28” |
| 3 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 02′ 40” |
| 4 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 14′ 54” |
| 5 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | + 00H 16′ 14” |
| 6 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | + 00H 20′ 00” |
| 7 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 20′ 03” |
| 8 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | + 00H 23′ 14” |
| 9 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 44′ 24” |
| 10 | (USA) MASON KLEIN | + 00H 54′ 58” |
| 11 | (ESP) LORENZO SANTOLINO | + 01H 02′ 22” |
| 12 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 01H 25′ 01” |
| 13 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | + 01H 25′ 54” |
| 14 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | + 01H 34′ 34” |
| 15 | (ESP) TOSHA SCHAREINA | + 01H 47′ 33” |
2023 Dakar Rally Schedule
| Stage | Date | Start and Finish | Total | Special |
| REST | January 9, 2023 | RIYADH | |
| STAGE 13 | January 14, 2023 | SHAYBAH > AL-HOFUF | 669 km | 154 km |
| STAGE 14 | January 15, 2023 | AL-HOFUF > DAMMAM | 414 km | 136 km |
