HAIL, Saudi Arabia — Some bikers have a knack for riding under the radar and then popping up when you least expect them.
It has almost become a speciality for Luciano Benavides, who, for example, became world champion without having won an event in 2023 and who also picked up two consecutive stages on the Dakar last year before finishing at the foot of the podium (in 4th place).
The Argentinean repeated a similar feat to set the fastest time over the 356 kilometers of the special, climbing, for the first time in his career, into the top 3 of the overall rankings, 5’55’’ behind his leader in the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team.
Daniel Sanders took advantage of the route to Hail to regain the lead in the rally. With the fourth best time, 5’50’’ behind his team-mate, the title holder may have reaped the rewards of a strategy developed within the KTM clan. He will take starter’s orders on a stage almost entirely made up of dunes in a favorable position with possibly an ally for navigating through the second part of the route.
The special also enabled two other riders to put in their best performances of the week: Nacho Cornejo took 2nd place on his Hero, 3’51’’ behind Benavides, while Bradley Cox finished 7’22’’ after the day’s winner, in 4th place, equaling his best performance in five participations on the Dakar (achieved on stage 1 in 2024).
Each of the two leading teams also had their share of disappointments today. For KTM, the spectacular start enjoyed by Edgar Canet (with victories on the prologue and first stage) seem a distant memory after the problems that disrupted his day, beginning with the foam melting on his rear wheel. Though the time he lost is not yet known, it is clear that he can wave goodbye to competing at the forefront of the rally.
For Monster Energy Honda HRC, Ricky Brabec is displaying first-class consistency, perhaps to the extent that he can lay claim to being team leader, following a major blunder by Tosha Schareina. The Spaniard held his own on the tracks but received a 10-minute penalty for forgetting to leave the bivouac-refuge between the flags.
This breach of the rules has dropped him off the provisional podium into 4th place and he will now have to make up a deficit of a dozen minutes on Sanders to be in with a shout for outright triumph. Adrien Van Beveren, who has already experienced difficult days on this edition, hit a new low today after having lost more than half an hour, partially due to a wire that got stuck in his wheel after 88 kilometers.
Ross Branch also had a tough day and is now far off the summit of the overall rankings, 1 hour and 23 minutes behind Sanders.
