There were some famous stage wins on day three at the 2024 Dakar Rally and they will be celebrated under the desert stars as the convoy camps out tonight. After a huge variety of terrain on the 440-kilometre special stage between Al Duwadimi and Al Salamiya there was only two hours for competitors to confer with their mechanics and make repairs. Then it was time to pitch tents on the dunes before taking on the remaining 299 kilometres of the Marathon Stage tomorrow.
Story of Stage Three: American continent wins big
A first-ever career stage win for Lucas Moraes was today’s headline news in the Ultimate category. The Brazilian was the bivouac’s big surprise 12 months ago when he finished his debut Dakar on the podium. Since then Moraes been given the keys to a Toyota GR DKR Hilux and linked up with co-driver Armand Monleon. This duo currently sit fourth overall after three stages.
« It’s an unbelievable feeling and I have to give it up for Armand and the team for the work they’ve done. I dedicate this victory to my daughter who has been in hospital for the last four days but now she’s better. It was very tough for me being away from home but this win means a lot. » – Lucas Moraes
It was Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al Rajhi who climbed to the top of the overall rankings during the trip to Al Salamiya. In close attendance to the lead in the Ultimate class is Carlos Sainz’s Audi RS Q e-tron, just 29s behind Al Rajhi in second.
« I was really going fast and reached the dust of Mattias (Ekström). Then I hit a hole and nearly rolled the car. » – Carlos Sainz
Completing the podium places in the general classification is Sainz’s fellow Team Audi Sport driver Mattias Ekström with Moraes less than a minute behind the Swede.
« At one big dune I took a wrong turn and had to make a u-turn, but except for this we had a smooth day and cannot complain. » – Mattias Ekström
There was another charge up the rankings on Stage Three by defending Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. Despite a trio of punctures the Qatari kept his foot down to record the day’s fourth fastest time and promote himself to fifth overall.
« We got a third puncture 30k from the end of the stage, We didn’t have any more spare tyres so we just had to continue. There’s some damage to the left-rear but the mechanics will work quickly to fix it. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
It continues to be an up and down Dakar for Stéphane Peterhansel, Sébastien Loeb, Seth Quintero, Guillaume de Mévius and Giniel de Villiers This group of drivers are still searching for a consistent run of front-running stage results.
« I’m bummed out because I wanted today to be another good day like yesterday and instead we’re playing the flip-flop game of one good day followed by a bad day. Hopefully we can make it another podium tomorrow. » – Seth Quintero
Laia Sanz has brought her Astara into the Top 20 as she bids to beat her best ever Dakar result on four wheels of 23rd overall.
The news was better for Quintero’s friend Mitch Guthrie Jr. in the Challenger class. The American set a blistering pace in his Taurus T3 Max to pick up his first stage win of the year. Today’s result pushed Guthrie Jr. onto the overall podium, 15m58s back from race leader Eryk Goczal.
« We were pushing hard with a group of guys at the front of the Challenger class and it looks like we came away with the stage win. Our goal for this rally is to have clean days and this was another one. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
There was a move up to fourth overall in the Challenger category from Cristina Gutiérrez who was joined in the stage’s Top 10 by fellow Taurus driver Dania Akeel, herself battling back from a tough opening to the Dakar.
Can-Am drivers Austin ‘AJ’ Jones, Chaleco López and Rokas Baciuška have all suffered early losses with López currently the best placed of this trio, sitting 42m45s off the lead.
« It was a difficult start to the day for us and I’m grateful to my friend Rokas who swapped a tyre with us at the refuelling. We could then push over the sand. » – Chaleco López
Following the success of Moraes and Guthrie Jr. it was Kevin Benavides in the Bike class who made it a trio of stage wins for the American continent on day three. The defending Dakar champion’s achievement is all the more remarkable given that the Argentinian broke a bone in his leg whilst training just one month ago.
« I started very focused on my navigation because yesterday I had some problems. It was a long stage and I worked hard all day. I had some lines in front but I always check these with my roadbook. » – Kevin Benavides
Kevin Benavides is now 20m32s behind Bike race leader Ross Branch with fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Toby Price a further couple of minutes further off the summit.
« It was a bit of a crazy stage. I saw Sam (Sunderland) had a mechanical issue so I stopped with him to see if I could help. » – Toby Price
Unfortunately for Sam Sunderland the mechanic problems he encountered just 11 kilometres into today’s special stage signalled the end of his rally. Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s remaining biker Daniel Sanders arrived to the halfway point of the Marathon Stage 24 minutes off the race lead.
« I’m in one piece and so is the bike. We’ll come out swinging tomorrow. » – Daniel Sanders
It’s been a tough opening to this Dakar for 2023’s FIM World Rally-Raid Championship winner Luciano Benavides. The Husqvarna biker was 13 minutes behind his older brother as Kevin collected the eighth stage win of his Dakar career.
There will be more navigation puzzles to solve on tomorrow’s second part of the Marathon Stage. There’s a 299-kilometre special stage laid out between Al Salamiya and Al Hofuf before race vehicles can receive a proper service from their mechanic crews. With plenty of distance still to cover leading contenders will have to decide if it’s a day to stick or twist.
OVERALL TOP 5 STANDINGS AFTER STAGE THREE
ULTIMATE
1. Y. Al Rajhi (SAU) – Toyota, 13:07:29
2. C. Sainz (ESP) – Audi, +00:29
3. M. Ekström (SWE) – Audi, +08:26
4. L. Moraes (BRA) – Toyota, +09:17
5. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) – Pridrive, +10.49…
CHALLENGER
1. E. Goczal (POL) – Taurus, 14:19:57
2. M. Goczal (POL) – Taurus, +15:47
3. M. Guthrie (USA) – Taurus, +15:58
4. C. Gutierrez (ESP) – Taurus, +28:06
5. F. Lopez (CHI) – Can-Am, +42:25…
BIKES
1. R. Branch (BWA) – Hero, 14:32:51
2. J. I. Cornejo (CHI) – Honda, +03:11
3. R. Brabec (USA) – Honda, +05:08
4. P. Quintanilla (CHI) – Honda, +16:16
5. A. Van Beveren (FRA) – Honda, +21:16…
QUOTES
Lucas Moraes: « It’s an unbelievable feeling and I have to give it up for Armand and the team for the work they’ve done. I dedicate this victory to my daughter who has been in hospital the last four days but now she’s better. It was very tough for me being away from home but now this win means a lot. »
Armand Monleon: « I’m really happy. This is my first overall stage win at the Dakar. I’m happy that the combination of team, driver and co-driver is working so well. I really enjoyed the stage and we got the win as well so it’s the full package. »
Mattias Ekström: « We had a good stage. At the beginning we missed one valley but we only lost a minute there. Also at one big dune I took a wrong turn and had to make a u-turn, but except for this we had a smooth day and cannot complain. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « It was a nice mix this stage. Some rocky tracks, some small mountains, some dunes and some sandy valleys. Also the navigation was complicated. We’re happy to be here halfway through this Marathon Stage. »
Carlos Sainz: « Not a perfect day for me. We had a problem with navigation at the beginning and lost five minutes. Then I was really going fast and reached the dust of Mattias. Then I hit a hole and nearly rolled the car. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « Today started well for us but then we had two flat tyres so we decided to not push so much. We then got a third puncture 30k from the end of the stage. We didn’t have any more spare tyres so we just had to continue. There’s some damage to the left-rear but the mechanics will work quickly to fix it. »
Seth Quintero: « Today didn’t really go our way. At 7k we got our first puncture and then at 138k we got another one. Then about 60k from the end Carlos swerved and a bike came out of his dust. We swerved to avoid the biker and ended up getting another flat. I’m bummed out because I wanted today to be another good day like yesterday and instead we’re playing the flip-flop game of one good day followed by a bad day. Hopefully we can make it another podium tomorrow. »
Sébastien Loeb: « After we got our third puncture we needed to repair and that was complicated. When we restarted we had to stop every 20 minutes to reinflate the tyre. The puncture was on the tread of the tyre, not the sidewall, so we got unlucky with that. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « This was a fun stage, it reminded me a bit of Stage One where we had a little bit of everything. We were pushing hard with a group of guys at the front of the Challenger class and it looks like we came away with the stage win. Our goal for this rally is to have clean days and this was another one. »
Chaleco López: « It was a difficult start to the day for us and I’m grateful to my friend Rokas who swapped a tyre with us at the refuelling. We could then push over the sand. It wasn’t too bad for us in the end. »
Austin Jones: « It was an OK day for us. We finished P6 and the first Can-Am so that’s always good. We got a flat around 50k and got cycled back by quite a lot of cars. After that it was just dust all day. »
Rokas Baciuška: « Today was quite a tough day. We got through the first part without any punctures so at the refuelling we could give Chaleco a spare. Near the end we were fighting with trucks in the dust. It was a normal Dakar day. »
Kevin Benavides: « It was a better day for me. I started very focused on my navigation because yesterday I had some problems. It was a long stage and I worked hard all day. I had some lines in front but I always check these with my roadbook. »
Luciano Benavides: « It was a tough day, a lot of broken piste. I got lost in the first 100k and that cost me around six minutes. It was difficult to find a good rhythm after that, but I had no crashes so I can reset and go again tomorrow. »
Toby Price: « It was a bit of a crazy stage. I saw Sam had a mechanical issue so I stopped with him to see if I could help. Then Skyler caught me in the stones and I was in his dust for a little bit. Then in the sand I got back in front of Skyler but the boys ahead of us were on the move today. »
Daniel Sanders: « Today was another long and tough stage. It was sunny and dry out there, hard to ride in the dust. The navigation was also tricky. We haven’t crashed so that’s good. I’m in one piece and so is the bike. We’ll come out swinging tomorrow. »
Christine Fial,