The relentless pace of the 2023 Dakar Rally continued on Stage Four with nearly 500 kilometres against the clock. The convoy of competitors were taken over camel grass, dropped into desert canyons and forced to scale sand dunes. Once all these obstacles had been cleared the Stage Four loop concluded right where it had started, at the Dakar bivouac in Ha’il.
A ding-dong battle played out in the car race on Stage Four between Dakar heavyweights Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin and Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger. Both crews led the stage at various points during the day before nine-time WRC winner Loeb got over the line 13 seconds quicker than 14-time Dakar winner Peterhansel.
« We tried to push really hard on this stage. We were on full attack all the time. » – Sébastien Loeb
Peterhansel was joined on the stage podium by fellow Team Audi Sport driver Carlos Sainz as the Spaniard put his foot down in an attempt to recover some of the 45 minutes lost yesterday repairing a suspension cup.
It was smooth sailing on Stage Four for the man that they’re now all trying to catch, Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel now have a gap of 18m18s to their nearest rival in the general classification.
« This was definitely not an easy stage. We were off piste a lot and in so much camel grass. We got one flat tyre and after we tried to push. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
The best placed rookie in the car race continues to be Lucas Moraes who has taken his Toyota Hilux to sixth overall alongside co-driver Timo Gottschalk.
« This was my best Dakar stage. It was really fast and really awesome. It was amazing to see how well the car handles when you’re going fast. » – Lucas Moraes
Laia Sanz and her co-driver Maurizio Gerini found a good rhythm in their Astara and were able to put down a good time after enduring some tough opening days to this Dakar.
« Today we are happy. We found a good rhythm and we will try to keep going like this. We are learning a lot each day. » – Laia Sanz
Daniel Sanders opened the stage for the bikes and by the time he reached the finish line he had leapt from second overall to first place. The GASGAS rider’s roadbook reading skills were tested by a track that had been drastically altered by last night’s heavy rainfall.
« I haven’t really done any opening with roadbooks since the last Dakar. It was really tricky navigation. The rain last night washed away a lot of the tracks. » – Daniel Sanders
Staying in close attendance to Sanders at the front of the two-wheeled contest are Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders Kevin Benavides and Toby Price. Benavides is third overall, just four minutes back from Sanders. Price is only a further three minutes behind his KTM team-mate.
« The dunes were very heavy because of all the rain we’ve had, they were kind of sucking the bike into the sand. » – Toby Price
There was another T3 stage win for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich thanks to Mitch Guthrie Jr. and co-driver Kellon Walch. This duo now lead the T3 overall rankings, followed by Guillaume De Mevius/François Cazalet in second and AJ Jones/Gustavo Gugelmin in third.
« They took us up a lot of big dunes on this stage. My co-rider Kellon and me had to work really well together to decide which dunes to climb and which ones to go around. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
Elsewhere in the T3 contest there have been significant time losses for a number of race crews who came to Saudi Arabia with ambitions of winning. Seth Quintero/Denniz Zenz suffered a lost wheel, losing power steering and running out of fuel before battling to the finish line. Quintero’s mission for the rest of the rally is clear, recover the 80 minutes lost today over the 10 stages still to come.
Cristina Gutiérrez/Pablo Moreno and Chaleco López/Juan Pablo Latrach also now face their own uphill battles to reach the summit of the leaderboard.
« It feels like we’ve been in survival mode since the beginning of this rally. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Rokas Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal lifted themselves onto the overall T4 class podium on Stage Four. Baciuška is now third with 10 stages left to chase down the category leader.
« Every day at this rally is getting more and more difficult. Today the dunes were really tough to cross. » – Rokas Baciuška
There’s plenty more sand on the menu for tomorrow’s Stage Five, featuring 374km against the clock. Whoever can navigate smooth passage through the dunes will end up being rewarded on the leaderboards when the loop stage returns to the Ha’il bivouac.
Selected Overall Standings after Stage 4
T1 Car Class
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) TOYOTA 16:34:13
2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) TOYOTA +18:18
3. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) AUDI +18:52
4. Carlos Sainz (ESP) AUDI +32:55…
6. Lucas Moraes (BRA) TOYOTA +45:27
7. Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) TOYOTA +46:13
8. Mattias Ekström (SWE) AUDI +50:00…
14. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) BRX +01:33:43…
58. Kuba Przygoński (POL) MINI +06:31:29…
65. Laia Sanz (ESP) ASTARA +07:53:51…
T3 Lightweight Prototype
1. Mitch Guthrie (USA) MCE5 18:59:47
2. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) OT3 +01:29
3. AJ Jones (USA) CAN-AM +11:31
4. Seth Quintero (USA) CAN-AM +01:21:46
5. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) CAN-AM +02:29:52
6. Chaleco López (CHL) CAN-AM +02:51:00…
11. Ignacio Casale (CHL) YAMAHA +03:29:44…
T4 SSV
1. Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (BRA) CAN-AM 20:05:55
2. Eryk Goczal (POL) CAN-AM +14:04
3. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) CAN-AM +24:57…
Bikes
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS) GASGAS 18:40:03
2. Skyler Howes (USA) HUSQVARNA +03:33
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG) KTM +04:05…
5. Toby Price (AUS) KTM +07:17…
10. Matthias Walkner (AUT) KTM +28:25…
16. Štefan Svitko (SVK) KTM +01:04:44…
21. Camille Chapelière (FRA) HUSQVARNA +01:58:22…
45. Mohammed Balooshi (ARE) HUSQVARNA +04:49:59…
QUOTES
Sébastien Loeb: « We tried to push really hard on this stage. We were on full attack all the time. We lost our power steering 20 km from the end so we had to finish slowly. We ended up spinning twice because I couldn’t turn the steering wheel. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « Today was our first day without any problems. No punctures and no dust for us so we had the perfect conditions. There were dunes and camel grass so if you wanted to do a good time you needed to push. There was a lot of impact on the car and on the body today. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « This was definitely not an easy stage. We were off piste a lot and so much camel grass. We got one flat tyre and after that we tried to push. I don’t know how today’s results will be, but I think we’ve done OK. »
Carlos Sainz: « The stage went well. It was a little bit rutted and we picked up one puncture. We lost some time there, but in general it was a fine stage for us. »
Mattias Ekström: « We had a good day and were able to push quite a lot. It was nice to have a day without any big adventures and to bring the car home in one piece. We’re happy to just have a regular day. »
Lucas Moraes: « This was my best Dakar stage. It was really fast and really awesome. At 100km Ekström passed me and we latched onto him for the rest of the stage. It was amazing to see how well the car handles when you’re going fast. »
Kuba Przygoński: « We enjoyed the bumps and dunes at the beginning. At 50km our dampers were completely gone so we were driving on springs. It was really tough on our backs. »
Laia Sanz: « Today we are happy. It was not an easy stage and at the beginning we struggled with some uphills. Then we found a good rhythm and it was a shame when we had to slow down for the fog and also a puncture. We will try to keep going like this. We are learning a lot each day. »
Daniel Sanders: « Today was a bit of a slow start. I had to open today and I haven’t really done any opening with roadbooks for a very long time since the last Dakar. It was really tricky navigation. A lot of the rain last night washed away the tracks. »
Kevin Benavides: « It was another really long stage today, we were racing for 425km. I’m feeling good and very comfortable with the bike. It was a really physical day, a lot of camel grass and off piste riding. I made one mistake with the navigation, but overall I’m happy with my day. »
Toby Price: « No big mistakes today. It’s just about staying on two wheels and keeping in the race. My body’s feeling good and the bike’s feeling good so we’re happy. The dunes were very heavy because of all the rain we’ve had, they were kind of sucking the bike into the sand. »
Matthias Walkner: « This was a super tough stage for me. I have a lot of pain in my wrist. I’m feeling really close to the limit. Let’s see what we can do for tomorrow. Right now I’m not sure I can continue. »
Štefan Svitko: « This was another very difficult stage so I’m happy to reach the finish line. It was a very demanding stage to ride with lots of camel grass to cover. »
Mohammed Balooshi: « I struggled a lot on the first part and then enjoyed the second part much more. After the rain yesterday I don’t think anybody was fully recovered for this stage. The refuelling was crucial today. I think a lot of guys ran out of fuel and I barely made it to the finish line. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « Today we got our first real taste of what the dunes are going to be like this time. They took us up a lot of big dunes on this stage. My co-rider Kellon and me had to work really well together to decide which dunes to climb and which ones to go around. »
AJ Jones: « It was a tough day with a lot of dunes to go through and we’re glad to get it done. It was about 80 percent sand today so it’s been the first real dune day that we’ve had so far. The dunes were beautiful and the stage was really well laid out. »
Guillaume De Mevius: « Today was quite different from the first three days because we were on the sand. There were still some rocks, because of this we had one puncture. We rode with Mitch for most of the stage and the fight for the overall is interesting right now. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « We had a good rhythm but just one kilometre before the neutralisation zone we ran out of fuel. We needed to wait for somebody to take us to the refuelling. Maybe we lost 30 minutes because of this. It feels like we’ve been in survival mode since the beginning of this rally. »
Rokas Baciuška: « Every day at this rally is getting more and more difficult. Today the dunes were really tough to cross. I’m speaking to guys with a lot more Dakar experience than me and they are all saying that this route is really tough. »