The compact sand on Stage Five caused plenty of problems on today’s leg of the 2023 Dakar Rally. The toughest test of endurance racing that motorsports has to offer is certainly living up to its reputation at this fourth edition hosted by Saudi Arabia. Even those at the top of the timesheets know that trouble can strike anytime as many competitors find its one step forward, two steps back at this Dakar.
Stage Five couldn’t have gone much better for Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel in their Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+. However, the stage win to increase their overall car race lead wasn’t achieved without a few headaches. The four-time Dakar winner knows that riding on the limit is not a sustainable tactic for a 14-stage rally.
« It was a very tough stage, not easy. We tried to push like crazy and took a lot of risk. Now we’re tired after pushing so much on the stage. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz stepped on the gas in their Audi RS Q e-tron E2 cars to score today’s second and third fastest times respectively.
« This was one of the hardest stages of my life, but I’m not sure why! We took a lot of impact on the back and the neck. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
The 2023 Dakar came to a premature end for Laia Sanz and co-driver Maurizio Gerini as their Astara car crashed out on Stage Five. Fortunately, both Sanz and Gerini were unharmed.
Illness and collisions have shaken up the standings in the bike race. Overnight leader Daniel Sanders was forced to ride well within himself on Stage Five after the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing rider woke up feeling unwell.
« It’s a bummer to lose so much time, but I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to race today when I woke up this morning. » – Daniel Sanders
As Sanders slid down the leaderboard, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders Toby Price and Kevin Benavides rose up the rankings. Price is now second, just two minutes off new race leader Skyler Howes. Meanwhile, Benavides is up to third overall following a dramatic Stage Five.
« Barreda had a crash so we stopped for him for about five or six minutes to make sure he was all good. I also went down so I’ve got to get my shoulder sorted for the next day. » – Toby Price
On doctor’s advice Rally2 biker Camille Chapelière did not take the start line of Stage Five and will now return home to France. We wish Camille a speedy recovery from his arm injury.
In the T3 contest there was an immediate fightback from Seth Quintero of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich. The 20-year-old American and his co-driver Dennis Zenz put yesterday’s disappointing time losses behind them to win the stage, clawing back 15 minutes on race leaders Guillaume De Mevius/François Cazalet in the process.
« I think there was still a little bit left in the tank, but we had the pace to get the job done. » – Seth Quintero
AJ Jones and co-driver Gustavo Gugelmin are now up to second overall in the T3 race, a shade over seven minutes off top spot.
« There were no real issues with the car, we just cruised all day. » – AJ Jones
There was another stage win in T4 category for Rokas Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal. The 23-year-old Lithuanian moved 4m33s closer to the summit of the T4 leaderboard thanks to his performance on Stage Five.
« We tried to do our best and push like hell. We’re happy to survive another day and we thank the team for doing a great job. » – Rokas Baciuška
The Saudi Arabian odyssey from coast to coast continues tomorrow on Stage Six. The usual mixture of terrain will feature during a timed special stage shortened by 100km, adjusted due to recent heavy flooding in the Al Duwadimi region.
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Selected Overall Standings after Stage 5
T1 Car Class
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) TOYOTA 20:47:36
2. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) AUDI +22:36
3. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) TOYOTA +27:01
4. Carlos Sainz (ESP) AUDI +34:52
6. Lucas Moraes (BRA) TOYOTA +01:01:43
7. Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) TOYOTA +01:07:57
8. Mattias Ekström (SWE) AUDI +01:35:56…
11. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) BRX +01:53:41…
34. Kuba Przygoński (POL) MINI +06:52:17…
T3 Lightweight Prototype
1. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) OT3 24:15:39
2. AJ Jones (USA) CAN-AM +07:20
3. Seth Quintero (USA) CAN-AM +01:05:49
4. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) CAN-AM +02:35:01
5. Chaleco López (CHL) CAN-AM +02:39:50…
T4 SSV
1. Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (BRA) CAN-AM 25:13:20
2. Eryk Goczal (POL) CAN-AM +16:45
3. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) CAN-AM +20:24…
Bikes
1. Skyler Howes (USA) HUSQVARNA 23:21:09
2. Toby Price (AUS) KTM +02:07
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG) KTM +05:16…
8. Daniel Sanders (AUS) GASGAS +17:50…
11. Matthias Walkner (AUT) KTM +26:49…
15. Štefan Svitko (SVK) KTM +01:08:25…
41. Mohammed Balooshi (ARE) HUSQVARNA +05:56:23…
QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « It was a very tough stage, not easy. We tried to push like crazy and took a lot of risk. I’m happy to finish today without any problems, but we are tired after pushing so much on the stage. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « This was one of the hardest stages of my life, but I’m not sure why! Yesterday we changed the suspension so maybe it was that. We took a lot of impact on the back and the neck. It was not an easy stage for sure. »
Carlos Sainz: « It was really very demanding for the body. I think I injured my neck a little bit, I hope it’s not too bad tomorrow because we need to keep pushing. It was a rough stage today. »
Lucas Moraes: « A tough stage for the body and for the car. The most important thing is to be at the finish and we’re here with another solid result. It’s my rookie year so I’m just trying to learn and keep a good pace. »
Giniel De Villiers: « We had a reasonable stage considering how tough it was. Extremely hard on the car and extremely physical on the body. There were lots of broken dunes and camel grass, it was very tough. »
Mattias Ekström: « We were a bit too careful in the beginning, but then we got a good rhythm for a while. Then we had an issue about 100km from the end. The time we lost meant it wasn’t a great day for us. »
Sébastien Loeb: « We were making a good stage until we made a mistake in one dune. We hit a big patch of camel grass and the car landed on its side. We lost some time because of this, but the rest of the stage was good. »
Toby Price: « We got a little bit lost this morning. Then Barreda had a crash so we stopped for him for about five or six minutes to make sure he was all good. I also went down so I’ve got to get my shoulder sorted for the next day. I don’t think we lost too much time today and there’s still plenty more racing to go. »
Kevin Benavides: « It was not the best day for me today. At km190 I got lost and this cost me some important minutes. After the refuelling I tried to push, but it was tough because I was so tired. Now I need to recharge my batteries at the bivouac to be ready for Stage Six tomorrow. »
Daniel Sanders: « It’s good to get to the finish line in one piece because I wasn’t feeling too good this morning. Because I was feeling so beaten I couldn’t push to my maximum today. I couldn’t match the pace that my bike was set-up to ride at. It’s a bummer to lose so much time, but I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to race today when I woke up this morning. »
Matthias Walkner: « Today was the first time that my wrist and my body started to feel OK. Today was the day to decide whether or not to try and continue or not. I really gave my best so it’s frustrating not to match the speed of the guys in front. »
Seth Quintero: « I think there was still a little bit left in the tank, but we had the pace to get the job done. »
Guillaume De Mevius: « It was a good stage today for us. We tried to push a little bit at the beginning but at the refuelling zone we noticed we were losing pressure in one tyre. After we saw that we went a little bit more slowly until the end. »
AJ Jones: « I wouldn’t say it was the most fun stage, but we made it and here we are. There were no real issues with the car, we just cruised all day. »
Chaleco López: « This was a tough stage, especially the first kilometres. Yesterday was not a good day for me and my team. Today we’re happy to not lose more time. »
Rokas Baciuška: « Today was tough on the dunes and the sandy tracks. We tried to do our best and push like hell. We’re happy to survive another day and we thank the team for doing a great job. »