2023 Dakar Rally – Stage 7 Cancelled
Al Duwadimi
The bikers and quad riders took the shortest route from Riyadh to Al Duwadimi, a road section nearly 500 kilometres long, with no rain this time round, instead of competing Stage 7 with the timed special.
Meanwhile, a bit further south, the car and truck drivers went head to head, however for once, the co-drivers were left with the burden of solving the navigation conundrum from scratch, without the clues left by the bikers.
As we saw after Stage 6 Toby Price sits second in the overall rankings 3m31s off off leader Skyler Howes (Husqvarna), with his KTM teammate Kevin Benavides third.
Daniel Sanders has struggled with illness since Stage 5, but seemed to be returning to form on Stage 6, moving back into the top 10 for the day, and walking away in eighth, 19m54s off the lead.
Joan Barreda sits fourth, Adrien Van Beveren fifth, Pablo Quintanilla sixth and Mason Klein seventh, with Luciano Benavides and Jose Cornejo completing the top 10 in the rankings.
On Sunday January 8, riders will contest stage 8 as rescheduled, with the special of Stage 7 from the initial route, reduced to a length of 345 kilometres, followed the scheduled rest day in Riyadh, after which there are six remaining stages.
Stage 7 Highlights Video (Cars/Trucks only)
2023 Dakar Rally Rankings After Stage 6/7
| Pos | Rider/Nat | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (USA) SKYLER HOWES | 26H 31′ 52” |
| 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | + 00H 03′ 31” |
| 3 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 07′ 01” |
| 4 | (ESP) JOAN BARREDA BORT | + 00H 10′ 57” |
| 5 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | + 00H 12′ 20” |
| 6 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 12′ 22” |
| 7 | (USA) MASON KLEIN | + 00H 12′ 46” |
| 8 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 19′ 54” |
| 9 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | + 00H 24′ 07” |
| 10 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | + 00H 24′ 23” |
| 11 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 30′ 01” |
| 12 | (ESP) LORENZO SANTOLINO | + 00H 37′ 39” |
| 13 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | + 01H 10′ 56” |
| 14 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | + 01H 15′ 54” |
| 15 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 01H 16′ 55” |
2023 Dakar Rally Schedule
| Stage | Date | Start and Finish | Total | Special |
| STAGE 7 | January 7, 2023 | AL DUWADIMI > AL DUWADIMI | 641.47 km | 473 km |
| STAGE 8 | January 8, 2023 | AL DUWADIMI > RIYADH | 722.41 km | 407 km |
| REST | January 9, 2023 | RIYADH | |
| STAGE 9 | January 10, 2023 | RIYADH > HARADH | 710 km | 439 km |
| STAGE 10 | January 11, 2023 | HARADH > SHAYBAH | 623 km | 114 km |
| STAGE 11 | January 12, 2023 | SHAYBAH > EMPTY QUARTER MARATHON | 426 km | 275 km |
| 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 |
