Colin-on-Cars - Toyota wins Dakar

Dakar 2023 proved a stunning success for South Africa. Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s GR Hilux DKR T1+ stormed to their third Dakar victory for Toyota Gazoo Racing on Sunday as SA cars starred, taking the overall and two class wins. 

South Africans also starred on two wheels, as Argentine Kevin Benavides took a sensational bike win from KTM teammate Toby Price. SA rider Michael Docherty took the rookie bike win, while compatriot and teammate Charan Moore won the no service Malle Moto Original bike class.

Sebastian Loeb

Attiyah and Baumel put in a faultless display to beat Sebastien Loeb’s Prodrive by an hour and 20 minutes with Brazilian rookie sensation Lucas Moraes third. SA crews Giniel de Villiers and Denis Murphy, and Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings fourth and fifth among five SA-built Toyotas in the top ten. Red-Lined cars took a T1.1 class 1-2, and Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar won amongst the T3 SSV rookies.

SA MEN AND MACHINES STARRED AMONG DAKAR’S CARS

Winners, Al Attiyah and Baumel had another perfect run to their third win in a Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux, and Nasser’s fifth Dakar win. Their sheer pace and consistency clearly benefits from their racing all year in the R2R world championship, and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s consistent development in the South African series. Their main rivals race less often.

Once he was finally into the groove, Loeb was relentless and set a record six stage wins in pursuit. The 9-time World Rally champion ended second ahead of a trio of ever-dependable South African Hiluxes. Young Brazilian rookie Lucas Moraes was the find of 2023 and a future Dakar star for sure, alongside legendary navigator Timo Gottschalk in their bright orange Hilux. 

Henk Lategan

SA Dakar legend Giniel de Villiers has now incredibly finished every one of the twenty Dakars he has started. Nineteen of them in the top ten. Fourth this year alongside Dennis Murphy, they came home ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+ teammates and compatriots Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings. Five Hallspeed Toyotas in the top ten is also an immense feather in Hallspeed’s cap.

RED LETTER DAY FOR RED LINED

Dakar 2023 was also huge for South African rally raid carmaker Red-Lined. Its cars dominated the amateur class, as Schröder and Bland took the T1.1 win from Bell and Schutte. All four Red-Lined cars that started the gruelling race finished in the class top 5. Red-Lined Motorsport clearly succeeded in making its gentleman crews’ Dakar dreams come true. 

Century Racing‘s stellar performance fell apart in the final two days. Baragwanath and Cremer’s Factory CR6-T led the T1.2 4x2 class until their penultimate day crash. Ninth placed Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s car suffered engine failure on the final day and had to be towed home to 12th by Baragwanath’s machine. An unhappy end to a stunning performance.

Also considered a car crew, South African GR Rally crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar drove a calm and consistent race to take T3 side by side rookie honours. T3 compatriots Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE South Racing Can Am overcame their occasional challenges to come home a fine 12th overall. 

THE CAR RACE IN REVIEW

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz’ petrol-electric Audi hit the ground running to win the prologue and day 1. Attiyah took Day 2 as Loeb tumbled to 32nd, stuck in the desert without spare tyres. Chicherit’s Prodrive hit back to win Day 3 as Al Attiyah moved into a lead he would never relinquish. Loeb was back to win Day 4 before Al Attiyah consolidated his lead with double wins on Days 5 and 6. 

Saudi hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s horrid week improved with a Day 6 win before Loeb benefited from Sainz’ penalty to win Day 8. Al Attiyah led a Toyota 1-2-3-5 from Lategan, Moraes, Loeb, and de Villiers at the rest day. Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century led the T1.2 4x2’s in eighth, Schröder and Bland’s Red-Lined lead T1.1 as Chicherit sat 16th, Al Rajhi 17th and Sainz 37th, with Peterhansel out.

Week 2 was all about Sebastien Loeb. He took a record six stage wins on the trot in his relentless charge, topped a Prodrive 1-2-3 Tuesday, dominated the marathon on Wednesday and Thursday and moved up to second Friday. He won again on chaotic Saturday as the 4x2 leader Baragwanath crashed. Week 2 also claimed Sainz’s Audi, Zala’s Prodrive, Lionel Baud’s Toyota and Simon Vitse’s MD. 

A BRILLIANT BIKE SPECTACLE

In an incredible bike race, KTM teammates and former winners, Argentine Kevin Benavides, and Aussie Toby Price were tied in the overall lead at 33 kilometres into Sunday’s final stage. Price however slipped to allow Benavides to open up a minute lead by midway. Price duly clawed back a few seconds, but it was not enough to beat the stage and overall winner, Kevin Benavides.

Kevin Benavides

Skyler Howes rode home third for Husqvarna. Pablo Quintanilla ended a close fourth with him, Adrien van Beveren, Luciano Benavides, and second on Sunday, Daniel Sanders all within four minutes. Jose Flormino’s Honda, Lorenzo Santolino’s Sherco and Franco Caimi’s Hero closed off the bike top ten.

Of the South African bikers, 20th on the day 16th overall, overall rookie winner Michael Docherty’s HT Husqvarna ended third in the amateur R2 class behind Romain Dumontier and Paolo Lucci. Iron Mike led the R2 class early on, but a tough third day had him on the back foot. He fought back hard, three times challenging for overall day wins as he clawed back to that much deserved rookie victory.

DOCHERTY WON BIKE ROOKIES, MOORE MALLE MOTO

Michael Docherty

Compatriot and teammate, epic no service Malle Moto Original class winner Charan Moore ended 24th  on Sunday, 29th overall and 12th in amateur R2. Consistently in the Malle Moto fight, he led most of the way but had to fight back after a rough tenth day dropped him back. Malle Moto riders are not allowed backup of any kind and must service their own machines out of small metal box.

Botswana hero Ross Branch started well and ended fourth on day 2 before enduring a disastrous few days including running out of fuel and being stranded in the desert to lose seven hours on Day 4. Ross however fought back back to win two bike stages through week 2 as he brought it home in 26th overall.

Ever consistent Malle Moto hero Stuart Gregory ended a career best 61st and tenth in Malle Moto on his third Dakar finish. South African lady legend Kirsten Landman had a steady, if occasionally exhausting ride to 68th overall and 12th in Malle Moto. SA Dakar rookie, Stevan Wilken finished 69th off his best stage result in 56th on the final day, following a consistent race bar a painful Day 8 tumble.

AN ABSOLUTELY EPIC BIKE RACE IN REVIEW

Charan Moore

The bike race delivered seven different winners in the first seven days. Price took the prologue, Ricky Brabec’s Honda Day 1, and Mason Klein’s KTM Day 2. Sanders, Joan Barreda, van Beveren and Luciano Benavides took Days 3, 4, 5 and 6 as the lead changed consistently. Day 7 was cancelled before Ross Branch bounced back to take Day 8, as Klein led Howes by 40 seconds overall.

Luciano Benavides opened week 2 with a Tuesday win, and Branch took Wednesday as Kevin Benavides led overall, Docherty led the rookies and Moore led Malle Moto. Luciano won again Thursday as Price led Howes by 28 seconds. Ignacio Cornejo’s Honda won Friday and Kevin Benavides Saturday from Docherty to start Sunday’s final stage just 12 seconds behind Price overall.

Kevin Benavides duly took the day to win his second Dakar overall and put KTM back after three years off the top step of the podium. Dakar was cruel as ever, claiming top riders, 2022 winner Sam Sunderland and SA lad Bradley Cox on Day 1, Brabec on Day 2 and Barreda, Mattias Walkner and  Klein in Week 2.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3w1d5yF

Colin-on-Cars - The sting in the tail

Saturday’s 154-kilometre stage through the dunes to Al Hofuf would prove a dramatic dream breaker for some. South African T1.2 leaders Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer, who suffered a hard landing, flipped, and damaged their Factory Century. The car was towed out of the stage. Another Century driver, Yannick, was airlifted to hospital after another crash.

Up front, Sebastien Loeb and his navigator Fabian Lurquin stormed to an unprecedented sixth straight Dakar stage win and his seventh of 2023 in their Factory Prodrive Hunter. His relentless pursuit has however hardly made a dent over second place in todays stage, the wholly unflustered Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel who have an hour and 21-minute overall lead in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+.

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel

Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi was third ahead of South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Gazoo Hilux, home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s GR Hilux, and best of the 4x2s Jakub Przygonski’s Mini. Rookie sensation Luca Moraes was seventh in his Hilux from Guerlain Chicherit’s Hunter, Juan Yacopini’s Hilux, and SA duo Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings

Outside the top ten, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s second Century recovered to 12th after a difficult start to close on new class leader Wei Han’s 4x2 advantage down to 2 minutes 30. Overall, Attiyah leads Loeb, Moraes, de Villiers and Lategan. Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor sat sixth after a tough day, from Yacopini, up four places overall but closely followed by Han and Serradori.

Thomas Bell and SA navigator Gerhard Schutte led Daniel Schröder and his SA notes man Ryan Bland home to another South African Red-Lined Racing T1.1 amateur class 1-2. Schröder and Bland lead Bell and Schutte in a comfortable Red-Lined 1-2 overall, with all four of the maker’s cars still running into Sunday’s short final stage.

MORE DRAMA IN EPIC BIKE RACE 

As it was in the cars, the bikes also delivered great late Dakar drama. The day started with news that tenth overall US KTM youngster Mason Klein had thrown in the towel after struggling since a Day 9 crash. Then ninth overall KTM factory rider Matthias Walkner crashed heavily, as third overall, teammate Kevin Benavides stopped to help until Walkner was airlifted out.

Kevin Benavides

Benavides would ultimately gain his lost time back, but that kept him invisible through the day.  His pace was however clearly quicker than the men up front. Heroic South African rookie Michael Docherty’s FK Husqvarna led the way from brother Luciano Benavides’ Factory Husqvarna and Adrien van Beveren’s Honda, as overall top two, Price and Howes fought in sixth and seventh.

Docherty ultimately benefited a Luciano Benavides penalty to top the times, with overnight leader Toby Price’s KTM third from Husqvarna privateer Romain Dumontier, second overall Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna, Pablo Quintanilla’s Honda, privateer Tosha Schareina’s KTM and Botswana’s double ‘23 stage winner Ross Branch’s Hero in ninth. Kevin Benavides was provisionally placed 31st overall.

All of which left Price leading Howes overall. But the world awaited news of Kevin Benavides’ corrected time, which ultimately saw him regain over 23 minutes. So, Kevin Benavides not only took the day win, but he also moved up to second overall, just twelve seconds from KTM teammate Price.  Howes sat just a minute and 31 seconds off the pace in third.

SOUTH AFRICANS STAR ALL THE WAY

Another South African, Charan Moore made more waves in the desert sand a little further back. He stormed home 29th on Sunday to move back into a 17 minute overall Malle Moto Original class lead on his R2 FK Husqvarna. Considered the ultimate Dakar iron man adventure, Malle Moto riders are not allowed backup of any kind, and must service their own machines out of small metal box.

Charan Moore

SA lady and gentlemen riders, Stuart Gregory goes into the final day in 63rd overall and tenth in Malle Moto, lady star Kirsten Landman 71st overall and 12th in Malle Moto and rookie Stevan Wilken 73rd overall. Marcelo Medeiros took another quad stage win from Giovanni Enrico and Moreno Flores, but Alexandre Giroud takes a 44-minute lead over Flores going into the final stage on Sunday.

Mitch Guthrie again won the T3 SSV day. SA rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were ninth and Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman 24th. Austin Jones has a strong overall lead with Basson seventh and Minnitt 12th. Second overall, Eryk Goczal beat leader Rokas Baciuska on Sunday, to close Baciuska’s advantage down to 3 minutes 24 in T4 SSV. Janus van Kasteren led the trucks overall. 

A 134 km short, sandy and gravel track road through a pan or two is all that now separates the 2023 field form the Dakar finish in Damman. Judging by Saturday’s late dramas however, it will not be over until that fat lady sings.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3k5wCen

Colin-on-Cars - Keeping up the pressure

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb’s ruthless pressure paid off as his fifth straight stage win on Friday moved him up to second overall, an hour and a half behind overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah’s made in South Africa Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux. In a busy day among the cars, the bike race remains on tenterhooks as South African men and machines fly the flag high in Saudi Arabia.

CARS: LOEB TO SECOND OVERALL BEHIND NASSER

The bikes set off early on what again proved to be a fast sandy, pan and dune filled day back to service at Shaybah with the cars also away relatively early. And as it has been ever since racing resumed on Tuesday, it was Loeb and Fabian Lurquin who stormed to their fifth stage win on the trot, and their seventh of twelve 2023 day wins in the Factory Prodrive Hunter.

Sebastian Loeb - chasing hard.

Loeb’s relentless pressure saw him move up to second overall behind runaway leaders, Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, who were third on the day behind Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi. Loeb had languished in 31st after day 2, but his meteoric pace saw him finally pluck second from rookie sensation Lucas Moraes and Timo Gottschalk’s Hilux, when they stopped briefly late on Friday.

There was more of a shake-up behind, as South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux lost 25 minutes at a standstill early in the stage. They slipped to fifth overall behind teammates and SA compatriots, ninth on the day Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy. Consistent Polish crew Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk Ford Raptor also moved up a place to sixth.

T1.2 4x2 leaders, South African Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Factory Century CR6-T lost several minutes early in the day to tumble back to 27th. They fought back to 12th to move up a position to seventh overall as Romain Dumas’ Toyota GR Hilux was delayed. 

Second in T1.2, Wi Han and Wei Li’s SMG in eighth overall is under pressure from sixth on Friday, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s second SA-built Factory Century, with Juan Yacopini and Daniel Oliveira’s Hilux tenth. Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s SA-built Red-Lined VK50 leads the T1.1 amateur class ahead of sand master Thomas Bell and SA man Gerhard Schutte’s similar car.

Mathieu Serradori - in the hunt

BIKES: TIGHT AT THE TOP!

All eyes were on the overall top three factory riders: American Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and KTM duo, former winners, Aussie Toby Price, and Argentine Kevin Benavides. Price led Benavides with Howes down in eleventh. Honda rider Ignacio Cornejo however led Benavides and Price, with Howes up to fifth at the final waypoint, but there was a bit of a shake-up in the final sector.

Skyler Howes

While Cornejo held on for the day win, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas appeared out of nowhere to end second ahead of Price, his KTM teammate Matthias Walkner who also came from outside the top ten, Benavides and Howes. Which saw Price into a mere 28 second overall lead from Howes, with Benavides 2 minutes 40 adrift in third. Honda duo Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Benavides are 15 minutes behind.

Of the Southern Africans, Botswana’s double ‘23 stage winner Ross Branch’s Hero ended tenth but sits 29th overall after his week 1 issues. SA hero Michael Docherty’s amateur R2 class FK Husqvarna was 16th on the day to move up to 17th overall and retain his strong rookie lead. Teammate Charan Moore was 32nd to close his Malle Moto second place deficit down to two and a half minutes.

Toby Price

Malle Moto Original is considered the ultimate Dakar class. Riders race without any backup and must service their own machines out of an army-sized chest. Two more South Africans, Malle Moto regular Stuart Gregory is 66th overall and tenth in Malle Moto, lady heroine Kirsten Landman was 75th overall and 12th in Malle Moto. South African rookie Stevan Wilken was 75th overall.

Ignacio Casale beat Guilaume de Mevius and overall leader Austin Jones to Friday’s T3 side-by-side prototype win. SA rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were seventh on the day and seventh overall. 12th overall, SA lads Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were in 20th on Friday. Michal Goczal beat overall leader Rokas Baciuska, Marek and second overall, Eryk Goczal to the T4 side by side win.

Runaway overall quad leader Alexandre Giroud lost 26 minutes as Marcelo Medeiros beat Juraj Varga and Giovanni Enrico to the Day 12 win. And overall leaders Janus van Kasteren, Darek Rodewald and Marcel Snijder’s Iveco took the Friday win from third overall and second man Martin Macik’s similar trucks.

Just 290 kilometres and two days remain of Dakar 2023, with 154 of those through the dunes from Shaybah to Al Hofuf on Saturday. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3ZCV4nY

Colin-on-Cars - Showdown in the desert

Dakar 2023 continued to deliver epic action as competitors fought on through the Arabian Desert on Thursday. 9-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb continued to pile on the pressure through Day 11 as he took his fourth stage win on the trot. Car leader Nasser Al Attiyah however held strong up front as South African cars dominate. It was a game of cat and mouse in a tight bike race.

Thursday’s 274 km run into the literal middle of nowhere across the Empty Quarter’s dunes and dried up pans served as the first part of Dakar 2023’s two-day no service marathon stage. Which meant that crews took it relatively easy as they headed to their secret, isolated overnight desert bivouac.

It's Loeb (top) versus Al-Attiyah in the desert duel

CARS: NASSER SOAKS UP LOEB’S PRESSURE

In the hope of pressurising the leading Toyotas into a problem, Loeb and Fabian Lurquin continued to push flat out up front in their Prodrive Factory Hunter. Shadowed by Guerlain Chicherit’s similar Prodrive machine, and Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi RS Q e-Tron quattro, their pace was relentless.

Fourth home, Brazilian rookie sensation Lucas Moraes and Timo Gottschalk did enough to keep ahead of the flying Loeb in second overall. Their dice for second should prove epic as the race winds down towards Sunday’s finish. Loeb took six minutes out of Moraes on the day, to cut his overall deficit to second overall to under ten minutes. 

Behind Moraes, overall leaders Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel consolidated their handy hour and 21-minute overall lead with fifth on the day in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+. They came home ahead of two more GR Toyota Hiluxes, SA teammates Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings and Yazeed Al Rajhi, and best of the 4x2s, Mathieu Serradori’s SA-built Century CR6-T.

Henk Lategan

There’s no change in the top five cars overall as Al Attiyah continues to lead Moraes, Loeb, Lategan and SA legend Giniel De Villiers. Martin Prokop is up to sixth in his Ford Raptor, from former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas in another GR Hilux. SA duo Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer still lead T1.2 4x2’s in their Century CR6-T.

Runaway amateur T1.1 overall leaders, Daniel Schröder and SA notes man Ryan Bland’s PS Laser Red-Lined VK50 held a strong advantage class on the road with Thomas Bell and SA navigator Gerhard Schutte’s similar machine in hot pursuit. This means that South African designed, built and developed machinery continues to lead three of Dakar’s four car classes.

BIKES: CAT & MOUSE UP FRONT

It was another day of cat and mouse in the bikes. Overall leaders, Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and KTM duo Toby Price and Kevin Benavides are duking it out for the Dakar 2023 win. Price was fourth on the day from Howes in fifth, with Benavides five minutes behind in 11th. That was enough to see Howes back into a 28 second lead from Price with overnight leader Benavides third, two minutes and 44 seconds adrift.

Luciano Benavides (top) and Toby Price

Sixth overall, brother Luciano Benavides took his third stage win of the year on his Husqvarna from seventh man Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Price, Howes; fourth overall Pablo Quintanilla’s Honda and Sebastian Bühler’s Hero. Fifth overall, Adrien van Beveren languished in 17th after being the second bike to open the road. Wednesday’s winner, Botswana’s Ross Branch also struggled to 19th.

Third to set off, rookie bike leader, SA hero Michael Docherty rode home 16th overall and second in amateur R2 on his FK Husqvarna. Compatriot and teammate Charan Moore had a tough day to 48th as he slipped to second in no service Malle Moto overall. SA trio, Stuart Gregory was 68th to move up to 8th in Malle Moto, Rookie Stevan Wilken was 81st and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 86th.

Joao Ferreira led the T3 side-by-side prototypes from Mitch Guthrie, after leader Guilaume de Mevius hit trouble. That allowed Red Bull duo Austin Jones to move ahead of Seth Quintero overall. SA duo Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE Can Am sat 14th while rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were 22nd in their GR Rally.

Local hero Yasir Seaidan led South Can Am teammate Cristiano Batista and overall leader Rokas Baciuska in the T4 side by sides. Marcelo Medeiros took quad honours from overall top two Alexandre Giroud and Moreno Flores. And Dutch Iveco trio, Martin and Mitchel van den Brink sandwiched overall truck leader Janus van Kasteren on the road. 

Friday’s 185 km second half of the marathon stage is another sandy, pan and dune filled day back to service at Shaybah. Before two more days to the finish on Sunday. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3iyRJFD

Colin-on-Cars - Branching out

It was a red-letter day 10 for Southern African bikers and cars at Dakar 2023, as Botswana’s Ross Branch scored his second stage win in three days, while SA rider Mike Docherty moved into the rookie bike lead with third overall. He joins compatriot Malle Moto rider Charan Moore in leading his class, while SA cars continue to dominate, leading three of the four car classes with four days left to race.

Ross Branch

Sand, sand and more sand: Comprising of 95% dunes, Wednesday’s 114 km stage from Haradh which ventured deep into the bowls of the Empty Quarter to Shaybah caused much intrigue. Bikers were up at 4am to take on sub 8° temperatures and a 470km liaison section, it was a shorter stage than most care to remember on the Dakar, but it was expected to be extreme.

It however turned out to be a short, sharp, and relatively easy stage by Dakar standards, with the first bike home in just an hour and 44 minutes after the start. 

LOEB WINS DAY 10

Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin continued in their relentless pursuit of a first Dakar Rally win for the 9-time World Rally Champion. However, Loeb’s mesmerising pace would hardly put a dent on the overall rankings. 

Sebastian Loeb

Barring a disaster in the last quarter, fourth on the day, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah is well on his way to his fifth Dakar victory, and his third for the South African Toyota Gazoo Racing team alongside Mathieu Baumel in their Hilux DKR T1+.

They Qatari veteran followed Loeb, DTM ace Mattias Ekstrom, and second overall, rookie sensation Lukas Moraes in another Hilux. Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi was fifth on Wednesday ahead of rear wheel drive winner Jakub Przygonski’s Mini, Henk Lategan’s Hilux and Mathieu Serradori’s SA built 4x2 Century CR6-T.

Lukas Moraes

Besides a little movement in the gaps, there was no change in the overall top ten. Attiyah leads Moraes by an hour and 20 minutes, with Loeb a further 16 minutes adrift in third. Toyota trio, SA Gazoo Racing crews Henk Lategan, Giniel De Villiers and former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas follow from Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk in a Ford Raptor.

Another all-South African crew, eighth placed Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century CR6-T leads the rear-wheel drive T1.2 class. Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s PS Laser Red-Lined VK50 lead the amateur T1.1 class with teammates Tom Bell and SA’s Gerhard Schutte third. Which leaves South African made race cars leading three of Dakar 2023’s four car classes.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN BIKERS DOMINATE

Botswana’s Ross Branch on his Factory Hero and South African Michael Docherty’s R2 amateur class FK Husqvarna were in the mix from the get-go on Wednesday. Docherty initially led Factory Honda duo Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, who were closely trailed by Kevin Benavides’ KTM and Branch. Branch made steady progress to move ahead of van Beveren, Docherty, Benavides and Matthias Walkner’s KTM to win.

Further back, overall top two Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and Toby Price’s KTM struggled to open the road as Howes led Price home by 34 seconds to consolidate his advantage. But it was Kevin Benavides passed them both to now lead Howes by a minute and a half overall, with Price a further 40 seconds adrift, over 3,000 km into Dakar 2023!

Docherty is back into the top 20 overall in 19th, as he now leads the motorcycle rookie rankings by all of 3 minutes and is up to fourth in R2. SA Malle Mote Hero Charan Moore finished 52nd after a tough day, but he’d crucially done enough to hold onto his 21 minute overall no service class lead.

Fellow South Africans, Stevan Wilken rode in 75th on Wednesday, Stuart Gregory 76th and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 79th. Gregory is up to 67th overall and 10th in Malle Moto, Landman 76th overall and 12th in Malle Moto, and rookie Wilken 78th overall. Marcelo Madieros took the quad stage from  Manuel Andujar and Giovanni Enrico, with overall leader Alexandre Giroud fifth on Wednesday.

Seth Quintero and former quad winner Ignacio Casale fought it out for T3 side-by-side prototype honours, while Guilaume de Mevius kept Austin Jones in check overall. South African crews, rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar ran 14th to retain their 7th overall. 12th overall Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were 20th on the day.

Gerard Farres Guell led Eryk and Marek Goczal in the T4 side by sides as Eryk Goczal slashed overall leader Rokas Baciuska’s advantage down to just 3 minutes 40 seconds with four days left to race. New overall leader Janus van Kasteren’s Iveco also led the trucks on Wednesday after overall leader Ales Loprais withdrew his Praga from the race due to a tragic incident which claimed the life of a spectator.

Thursday’s varied 274 km stage deep into the Empty Quarter is the first half of this year’s marathon stage. Crews are not allowed service assistance and will be in isolation overnight in a Camp in the desert.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3isYgSj

Colin-on-Cars - Al-Attiyah still on top

Dakar 2023’s opening week has been a stunning success for South African men and machines, with incredible results across all categories. SA-built cars lead three of Dakar’s four car categories to the traditional midway rest day, as South African riders led the way among the two wheelers too.

Nasser Al-Attiyah

2022 car winners, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Racing Hilux leads a proudly South African built Toyota 1-2-3 overall. Five SA Hiluxes occupy the top six after the first half of the race. South Africans, Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century also leads the T1.2 4x2 class. German Daniel Schröder and his South African navigator, Ryan Bland,  also lead the amateur T1.1 4x4 car class in their South African built PS Red-Lined VK50 .

Sunday was a red letter day for Southern Africans on two wheels too. Botswana star Ross Branch stormed to victory amongst the bikes. SA rookie Michael Docherty was sixth to take the day in the amateur R2 class and slash his rookie class second overall to just five minutes behind leader Neels Theric. 33rd overall, Charan Moore took yet another Malle Moto win to consolidate his lead in the no service class.

Ross Branch

CARS: SOUTH AFRICAN DOMINATION

Navigation and opening the road up front appeared difficult on Sunday. Saturday’s car top five languished well down the order at mid distance. 31st place starters Carlos Sainz Sr. and Lucas Cruz’ Audi RS Q e-Tron led the way from overall leader Al Attiyah, and Sebastien Loeb in his Prodrive Hunter. Loeb later overtook Al Attiyah for second. 

Sainz’ woes continued as a speeding penalty cost him an almost certain stage win. Loeb therefore won the stage ahead of Al Attiyah and penalty-stricken veteran, Carlos Sainz Sr. in third. SA duo Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were fourth as top ten runners, Romain Dumas and Max Delfino Dumas ended ninth, with Baragwanath 20th and Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux 21st.

So, Al Attiyah leads a Toyota 1-2-3 by an hour from Lategan and rookie Moraes. Loeb has clawed back to fourth, seconds clear of de Villiers. Le Mans winner Dumas makes it five SA Hiluxes in the top six from Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor in seventh and Baragwanath and Cremer’s SA-built Century that leads the T1.2 4x2 class in eighth overall.  Schröder and Bland’s SA Red-Lined also leads the amateur T1.1 4x4s. 

Looking back at the first week, the petrol-electric Audis hit the ground running. WRC legend Sainz took both the prologue and day 1 in the Audi. Al-Attiyah then won Day 2 as Sainz stayed ahead overall. Guerlain Chicherit’s Hunter took Day 3 as Attiyah in 13th moved into a lead he would not relinquish. Loeb then bounced back from his trouble the previous day to win on Wednesday.

Al Attiyah then consolidated his lead with double wins Thursday and Friday. Toyota GR Hilux duo, Saudi hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk van Zitzewitz hit back from a horrid week to win on Saturday before Loeb benefited from Sainz’ penalty to take a second win on Sunday.

Of the pros, Serradori sits 12th, Al Rajhi provisionally 17th, Prodrive trio Chicherit in 16th, Vaidotas Zala 39th and Orlando Terranova has retired. Sainz’ progress is scant reward after Dakar’s first week was particularly cruel to the highly vaunted petrol electric Audi team. He sits 37th overall with Ekstrom struggling and Stephane Peterhansel out after a disastrous first week.

Henk Lategan

BIKES: SA HEROES BRANCH, DOCHERTY, MOORE WIN

Sunday was also splendid for Southern Africa on two wheels. Botswana’s Ross Branch put a torrid first week behind him to take a storming win on his Hero. He ended a minute and 33 seconds clear of Mason Klein’s KTM, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien van Beveren’s Hondas, and SA rookie and R2 amateur class winner, Michael Docherty on his FK Husqvarna.

Branch and Docherty were in the mix from early Sunday, with Ross second behind Klein, and ahead of Sanders and Docherty. Branch moved into the lead as Pro riders, van Beveren on a Honda and Hero man Seb Bühler moved past Docherty as the morning wore on, but Iron Mike fought back to end sixth. 

South Africa’s no service Malle Moto Original class leader Charan Moore meanwhile enjoyed another productive ride to 33rd overall. Compatriots, Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory was 80th, rookie Stevan Wilken 86th, and Iron Lady heroine Kirsten Landman 89th.

Kirsten Landman

The bike race has delivered exceptional racing with eight winners in eight days of racing. Toby Price’s KTM took the prologue before Ricky Brabec won day 1 on his Honda and then Klein took Monday’s race to lead overall. Sanders won on Tuesday, as Joan Barreda’s Honda then took Wednesday ‘s win as Sanders led overall.

Adrien van Beveren won Day 6 as the consistent American Skyler Howes took the overall lead on his Husqvarna. His teammate Luciano Benavides took Friday’s win as Howes stayed ahead overall. Saturday’s bike race was cancelled, before Branch made it 8 out of 8. Klein moved a mere 40 seconds clear of Howes overall, with Benavides, Price, Quintanilla, and van Beveren within 5 minutes of the lead.

Michael Docherty got off to a flying start early in the week, mixing it up with the pros up front, before struggling a little on the tough third and fourth days. He regrouped and forged back to second among the rookies. A fired up Sunday run saw him back up front to end sixth as he climbed to a provisional 21st overall at the rest day.

Charan Moore took control of Malle Moto from the get-go, winning the no service class on the prologue and four of the first seven days to emerge a comfortable original leader on Friday before Saturday’s stage was cancelled. 33rd on Sunday, he won Malle Moto again to sit 31st overall. Ross Branch suffered a dreadful midweek, before winning on Sunday to claw back to 35th overall.

Although exhausted by Friday, amateur SA Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory and Kirsten Landman starred throughout. They sit 10th and 12th in the no service class, and 68th and 77th overall. Rookie Stevan Wilken had a clean run until a fall on Friday, but he bounced back to 80th overall.

Dakar has also been cruel to the bikers. 2022 winner Sam Sunderland and SA amateur Bradley Cox crashed out on Day 1. Sunday winner Brabec went out Monday and Hero rider Joaquim Rodriguez was one of ten bike retirements on Thursday. Sherco pro Rui Goncalves went out Friday, while Dakar has not been kind to troubled Hero duo Branch and Seb Bühler, among others.

Michael Docherty

EPIC ACTION IN ALL DAKAR CLASSES

Elsewhere, Christina Gutierrez Herrero took the T3 side-by-side prototype prologue. Red Bull teammates Francisco Lopez Contardo won Day 2, Mitch Guthrie day 3 and Austin Jones day 4. Guthrie won Thursday, and Seth Quintero Friday before Guilaume de Mevius broke the Red Bull stranglehold on Friday. Guthrie took a third win on Saturday and Joao Ferreira took the Sunday win.

Overall, de Mevius and Francois Casalet’s GR Racing leads a Red Bull throng of Jones, Quintero and Contardo after form man Guthrie fell well down after several issues. 7th placed  South African crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar enjoyed a strong week to lead the T3 rookies in their GR Rally, with compatriots Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman 14th in their HBE Can Am.

Rokas Baciuska leads Marek and Eryk Goczal in the T4 side-by-sides. Baciuska won the prologue before teen sensation Eryk Goczal took Day 1 and dad Marek Goczal won Day 2. Cristian Batista won Tuesday, Eryk Goczal Wednesday, and Baciuska took Thursday’s stage. Marek won Friday, Baciuska Saturday, and Jeremias Gonzalez on Sunday. Mozambican Paulo Oliveira and Miguel Alberty sit 26th overall.

Dominant throughout the early days, Frenchman Alexandre Giroud took control of the quads. He then rolled back the throttle to control the pace over Pablo Copetti, Friday winner Moreno Flores, Saturday and Sunday winner Manuel Andujar, and rookie Juraj Varga overall.

Ales Loprais, Petr Pokora and Jaroslav Valr’s Praga leads the trucks overall from Martin van den Brink and Janus van Kasteren’s Ivecos. Martin Macik’s Iveco took the Prologue and Day 1 before Loprais won on Monday. Gert Huznik’s Iveco won on Tuesday before retiring on Wednesday when Macik won again. Loprais, van den Brink, van Kasteren and Macik took the next four stage wins.

Monday’s rest day will bring a much needed recharge to the four-wheeler crews after eight gruelling days of racing, while the bikers will enjoy their second day off in three. The action resumes on Tuesday with a rather different and mainly gravel 358 km long track. Tuesday’s stage will be the ninth of 14 stages to Haradh, where a few dunes will test crews toward the finish. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3vNkLEv

Colin-on-Cars - Toyota hangs onto Dakar lead

South African cars are leading three of the 2023 Dakar Rally’s four classes, with Nasser Al Attiayh Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Racing DKR T1+ leading a made in SA Hallspeed Toyota Hilux overall 1-2-3-4 to dominate the top T1+ 4x4 class. 

Brian Baragwanath

SA crew Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s SA-built Century Factory Racing CR6-T leads the T1.2 4x2s, while Daniel Schröder leads the T1.1 4x4s, alongside South African co-driver, Ryan Bland, in their PS Laser Red-Lined VK50. Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz meanwhile added another Hilux stage win on Saturday.

Saturday’s 333 km stage, initially planned to be 470 km, was revised, shortened and re-routed from Riyadh to Al Duwadimi for the cars, side-by-sides and trucks. The bike and quad stage was cancelled due extreme weather conditions that included Saudi Arabia getting more rain in in the past week, than its average annual rainfall. Saturday thus became a mini marathon stage as teams met crews for a two hour service en route to the Duwadimi bivouac camp.

Four of the top five positioned cars early on Saturday were merely academic. All of Guerlain Chicherit and Vaidotas Zala’s BRX Prodrives, Audi survivor Carlos Sainz, and Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s Toyota GR Hilux were well down the overall order. Fifth overall, Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi, initially third on Saturday, was the leading top ten runner with sixth man Sebastien Loeb’s Hunter running sixth. There was drama when 11th overall Erik Van Loon rolled his Hilux out of the race.

Chicherit led initially, from Al Rajhi, Ekstrom, Sainz and Zala. Overall leader Al Attiyah was back in 16th, pacing himself against second overall teammates Henk Lategan. Third overall, rookie sensation Lukas Moraes and Timo Gottschalk’s Toyota sat 8th. South African crew Giniel De Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux were 12th, and under pressure from Ekstrom for fourth overall.  Century duo, Mathieu Serradori and Brian Baragwanath ran seventh and ninth.

Top three, Chicherit, Al Rajhi and Ekstrom swapped the lead through the morning. There was more drama as things went from bad to worse for Audi. Its last remaining petrol-electric top ten runner, Ekstrom ground to a halt around midday. That left Chicherit ahead of Al Rajhi, Sainz, Zala, Lategan, Serradori, Moraes, Loeb, Baragwanath and former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas’ Toyota – who is now up to sixth overall.

Giniel de Villiers

It was however Al Rajhi and navigator Dirk van Zitzewitz who emerged victorious to keep Toyota’s cup of success flowing over. Prodrive duo Zala and Chicherit completed the podium. Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy were however the spiritual winners of the day as they made great strides towards the end of the stage to bring their Hilux home fourth ahead of Baragwanath, Lategan and Serradori. Al Attiyah was 14th, losing just five minutes to teammate Lategan.

Al Attiyah thus leads Lategan by an hour and four minutes with Moraes third from de Villiers and Loeb. Dumas follows, 2 minutes clear of two wheel drive leader Baragwanath. There are now seven South African made cars in the Dakar top ten. Further back, Schröder and Bland’s PS Laser Red crossed the finish line as we closed for press, meaning that Attiyah, Baragwanath and Schröder’s South African-built cars continued to lead three of Dakar’s four car classes.

The side by sides and trucks were still in the stage at the time of writing. Martin Macik and Janus van Kasteren’s Ivecos led overall truck leader and Friday winner, Ales Loprais’ Praga. Rokas Baciuska led the T4 side by sides from Cristiano Battista and Friday winner Marek Goczal, which Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira led from Baciuska overall.

Ales Loprais

Joao Ferreira’s Yamaha was ahead of Francisco Lopez Contardo’s Can Am and Ignacio Casale’s Can Am in the T3 prototypes. SA crews Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar GR were running in an impressive fifth and Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman HBE Can Am ninth. Seth Quinteiro won Friday’s stage, while Guilaume de Mevius led Austin Jones and Quinteiro overall, with Basson ninth and Minnitt 14th.

The bikes and quads will return to action on Sunday. Husqvarna rider, American Skyler Howes leads overall from KTM men Toby Price, Kevin Benavides, and young privateer Mason Klein. Honda duo, Friday winner Adrien Van Beveren and Joan Barreda follow. Less than ten minutes separate the lot of them. 

South African FK Husqvarna privateers, Michael Docherty is 23rd overall and a close second among the rookies. Malle Moto Original no service class leader Charan Moore is 32nd. Botswana’s Ross Branch is remarkably 40th on his Hero after a truly horrible week in the saddle. SA Malle Moto duo, Stuart Gregory sits 70th and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 79th and Dakar rookie Stevan Wilken 83rd.

Alexandre Giroud holds a 45 minute quad advantage over Moreno Flores, Pablo Copetti and Friday winner Manuel Andujar.

Sunday’s stage was planned as a 366 km run from Al Duwadimi back to Riyadh at the time of writing.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3GMqhNP

Colin-on-Cars - Disaster day for Audi

South African Toyota Hiluxes are in complete control of Dakar 2023 after a catastrophic Day 6 for the petrol-electric Audi team. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+ steamed to their third stage win of the race and their second on the trot from Sebastien Loeb’s BRX Hunter. Attiyah opened up an hour’s advantage at the head of a Toyota overall 1-2-3-4 on Friday.

Al Attiyah is in complete control

AL ATTIYAH, TOYOTA IN COMPLETE CONTROL

The race was turned on its head when both Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz crashed their second and third placed Audis heavily at the same point 212 km into the day’s stage. Peterhansel’s navigator Edouard Boulanger hurt his back, eliminating them from the race. Sainz and Lucas Cruz were left stranded in the desert as they waited for back-up to arrive.

The thrilling Dakar 2023 bike race delivered its seventh different winner in seven days when Luciano Benavides led Skyler Howes home in a Husqvarna 1-2. South African amateurs, second among the rookies Michael Docherty and new Malle Moto Original leader Charan Moore continued to star. The drama started before the day even commenced in icy 6C temperatures, when the overnight bivouac was relocated to Riyadh and the stage shortened by approximately 100 km to 358 km after extreme storms in the area.

Baragwanath back in top 6

BARAGWANATH BACK IN TOP SIX ON DAY 6

Peterhansel, Sainz, Al Attiyah, Loeb and Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi fought it out early on, before third overall, Al Rajhi hit trouble and stopped. Then the Audis went out dramatically, leaving Al Attiyah to take an easy three-and-a-half-minute victory over 9-time World Rally Champion Loeb in his Prodrive Hunter alongside co-driver Fabian Lurquin. South African crew Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (top) placed third to make it two South African built Gazoo Racing Hiluxes on the podium.

Loeb’s BRX teammates, Guerlain Chicherit and Vaidotas Zala followed ahead of Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi in sixth. SA Century Factory Racing CR6-T crews, Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier, and Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer were 8th and 10th with the delayed SA Hilux crew Giniel De Villiers and Dennis Murphy 24th.

Skyler Howes leads the bikes

HOWES LEADS BIKES AFTER DAY 6

That leaves Al Attiyah in a commanding lead from teammate Lategan, rookie Hilux privateer Lukas Moraes, and de Villiers. Ekstrom is a close fifth from Loeb and former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas in another Hilux. Back in the top ten, T1.2 4×2 class leader Baragwanath sits 9th overall with teammate Serradori 16th. SA navigators, Ryan Bland lies 35th alongside Daniel Schröder, and Gerhard Schutte 43rd with Tom Bell. All four of their SA Red-Lined team bakkies are still running strong , with Schroder and Bland leading the T1.1 class.

Friday’s bike race was far less complicated. Argentine Luciano Benavides became the seventh different bike winner in seven days when he led a Factory Husqvarna 1-2 over Skyler Howes and Toby Price’s KTM. Joan Barreda’s Honda was fourth from Kevin Benavides’ KTM, Pablo Quintanilla’s Honda, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas and Jose Florimo’s Honda. Flormino led Howes early on before Howes took over, only to be pipped at the post by teammate Benavides.

Man Alone. Malle Moto leader Moore

MOORE LEADS MALLE MOTO AFTER DAY 6

Botswana’s Ross branch ended 18th on his Hero. South African Michael Docherty was 28th to stay second among the rookies. His FK Husqvarna teammate and countryman Charan Moore rode in 32nd and was the second Malle Moto bike home, to move himself into an 11 minute Original class overall lead. Their compatriots were still racing, Stuart Gregory in 67th, Stevan Wilken 78th and lady heroine Kirsten Landman 87th.

Howes leads the bikes overall by three minutes. Price is third from Kevin Benavides, Barreda, van Beveren and Quintanilla. Docherty is 23rd overall, Moore 32nd and Branch 38th. Gregory sat 71st, Landman 80th and Wilken 84th. Dominant Alexandre Giroud was finally beaten by Manuel Andujar in the quads. Giroud followed ahead of Moreno Flores and Pablo Copetti.

Ross Branch hanging in there

In limbo

Still racing on Friday, Janus van Kasteren, Darek Rodewald and Marcel Snijders’s Iveco led Mitchel van den Brink’s and Martin Macik’s similar machines in the trucks. Martin van den Brink, Rijk Mouw Erik Kofman’s Iveco led overall from Thursday winner Ales Loprais’ Praga and van Kasteren. Michal led Marek Goczal and overall leader Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira in the T4s from Rokas Baciuska.

Overall leaders and Friday winners Guilaume de Mevius and Francois Casalet’s GR led the T3prototypes from Ignacio Casale’s Yamaha and Austin Jones’s Can Am after Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz won on Friday. SA crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar’s GR Rally ran 12th on the road and 10th overall, while Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were lying 31st on the stage and 18th overall.

The length and status of Saturday’s stage 7 originally slated to be the longest of Dakar 2023 remains in limbo as organisers scramble to reorganise after today’s shift to Riyadh.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3QjaARs

Colin-on-Cars - Toyota controls the desert

Nasser Al Attiyah and Mattieu Baumel powered their Gazoo Toyota Hilux to a crushing Dakar Day 5 victory on Thursday, as they consolidated their overall lead in the race. Honda duo Adrien van Beveren and Jose Cornejo came from behind to take a bike 1-2 in a test of navigation through the soft Arabian Desert sand and camel grass of a second loop around Ha’il.

South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Gazoo Hilux led Dakar legends Stéphane Peterhansel’s petrol-electric Audi, Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz’ Audi and Sebastien Loeb’s Prodrive Hunter with Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi in pursuit. SA crews Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century CR6-T and Giniel De Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux ran ninth and tenth.

Brian Baragwanath

DAY 5 CARS: AL ATTIYAH IN CONTROL

There was drama when Laia Sanz and Maurizio Gerini’s Century rolled heavily. The crew emerged unscathed, but their Dakar is over. Up front, Peterhansel soon made use of Audi’s Wednesday power reprieve to move ahead of Attiyah, Sainz and Loeb as Lategan lost a little time. In a battle of the giants up front, Loeb then surged ahead, before Attiyah went back at him at two-thirds distance.

Attiyah then controlled the race from the front with the four behind swapping places regularly. Luckless Loeb however hit trouble again and lost 15 minutes to let Sainz and Peterhansel off the hook to finish second and third from home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s Toyota, Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq in a Prodrive Hunter, and Lategan. De Villiers ended 8th.

Daniel Schroeder

ALL FOUR RED-LINED BAKKIES RUNNING AFTER DAY 5

Baragwanath ran into trouble when they fell into a hole and had to wait for assistance late in the stage to drop to 20th, as Century teammates Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier Century came home 11th. South Africans, Ryan Bland was navigating German Daniel Schröder’s PS Laser Red-Lined Nissan in 34th and Gerhard Schutte guiding Thomas Bell in 48th at the time of writing. All four SA-built Red-Lined bakkies were still running strong.

Overall, Al Attiyah opened his car lead up to 22 minutes after Day 5, now over Peterhansel, who passed Al Rajhi for second. Sainz is third from Lategan, Toyota rookie Luca Moraes and de Villiers. Serradori is back up to 12th, but Baragwanath slipped to 20th.

Van Beveren won bikes

BIKES: HONDAS COME FROM BEHIND

Wednesday’s top three bikes struggled to open the road as Jose Cornejo’s Honda led KTM trio Toby Price, Matthias Walkner and Mason Klein early on. Price moved ahead to lead Husqvarna man Skyler Howes and Klein. Botswana’s Ross Branch sat 11th ahead of overall leader Daniel Sanders (GasGas). SA rookie Michael Docherty sat 22nd and Original man Charan Moore 33rd.

Price then lost time as fifth and sixth at mid distance, Honda pair Cornejo and Adrien van Beveren moved into the picture. They were second and third early in the afternoon, before powering ahead later on. Van Beveren went on to take the day from Cornejo, KTM trio Klein, Walkner and Price, Howes and Lorenzo Santolini’s Sherco.

Michael Docherty

DOCHERTY, MOORE KEEP ON IMPRESSING

Docherty ended 28th to retain his rookie second overall. Moore in 33rd closed to within 11 seconds of no service Malle Moto leader Javi Vega after five days and 2,000km of racing. Ross Branch’s woeful Dakar continued as he lost another hour. SA’s Malle Moto riders Stuart Gregory was still riding in 80th position and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 83rd, while Stevan Wilken sat 95th.

Alexandre Giroud dominated the quads with another stage win on Thursday over Moreno Flores and Laisvydas Kancius. Also still racing, Janus van Kasteren’s Iveco led overall leader Ales Loprais’ Praga in the trucks. Martin Macik’s Iveco took Wednesday’s win. Carlos Battista led the T4 sides by sides on Thursday, which Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira led overall from Wednesday winner Eryk Goczal.

Seth Quinteiro led the T3 prototypes, with SA crews Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar running sixth, and Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE Can Am ninth. Overall leader Mitch Guthrie won Wednesday’s stage from rookie João Ferreira’s Yamaha, with Basson sixth, and Minnitt ninth to see Basson 10th overall and Minnitt 19th.

Friday’s stage 6 will be fast at the start, with dunes to follow. It will be the second longest Dakar 2023 stage at 467km, as crew make their way across the breadth of Saudi Arabia to Duwadimi.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3WNc7Sj

Colin-on-Cars - Loeb takes Dakar stage win

Dakar 2023 reached its quarter distance mark after a somewhat less dramatic Day 4 as the legends of the sport fought it out for car victory. Sebastien Loeb ultimately emerged victorious for the troubled Hunter team, mere seconds ahead of Stephane Peterhansel’s Audi, his teammate Carlos Sainz Sr. and Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s overall leader, Nasser Al Attiyah.

There was also a dice throughout the motorcycle Day 4, as Joan Barreda Bort beat Honda teammate Pablo Quintanilla to the win. Daniel Sanders continues to lead the bikes overall, while South African FK Husqvarna rider Charan Moore leads the no back-up service Malle Moto Original class, and his teammate Mike Docherty is a very close second among the two wheeler rookies.

TUESDAY RESULTS CAME LATE

It took until late Tuesday evening for organisers to issue the Day 3 results following that thunderstorm curtailed stage. There was no change to the top of the car results, leaving Prodrive privateer Guerlain Chicherit to take the day from SA Toyota crew Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings, and Orlando Terranova’s Prodrive Hunter. 

Nasser Al Attiyah - overall leader

In the overall results, Nasser Al Attiyah headed a Toyota 1-2 over Yazeed Al Rajhi with Stephane Peterhansel ‘s Audi third. South African Century drivers Brian Baragwanath and Mathieu Serradori sat fifth and sixth ahead of Giniel de Villiers’ Toyota in seventh. All four South African Red-Lined entries were still in the running too.

The major bike results for stage 3 did not change, bar Argentine Kevin Benavides’ KTM receiving a two minute penalty and dropping a place to third behind leader Aussie Daniel Sanders’ GasGas and KTM privateer Mason Klein. 

Joan Barreda Bort

Botswana’s Ross Branch came in 15th, SA riders, Michael Docherty was 39th after a fall, Charan Moore 40th, Stuart Gregory, Kirsten Landman 79th, and Stevan Wilken 103rd. Sunderland led Klein and Benavides overall, with Branch 10th, Rookie leader Docherty 29th and Original leader Moore 36th.

US Red Bull lads, Austin Jones and Seth Quintero were declared a T3 side-by-side prototype 1-2 from Guilaume de Mevius. That left Quintero leading de Mevius overall. SA pair Geoff Minnitt was placed 15th, Eben Basson 17th, with Basson 16th and Minnitt 27th overall. 

Brazilian Cristiano Batista scored a surprise T4 side-by side win from overall leader Marek Goczal and Rokas Bakiuska. Martin Macik’s Iveco took the truck win from Gert Huzink’s similar machine and overall leader Jaroslav Valtr’s Tatra. And Alexandre Giroud took another quad win from Moreno Flores and Juraj Verga. As Giraud led Verga and Pablo Copetti overall.

DAY 4 BATTLE OF THE GIANTS IN CARS

Wednesday’s 425 loop around Ha’il took in a bit of everything, starting in the dunes before moving onto tracks and later returning to the sand. The Dakar giants fought it out up front, as Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger’s Audi led early on from Sebastien Loeb, Al Attiyah, and Carlos Sainz Sr.

It was a tough morning for Century as Serradori and Loic Minaudier picked up a heating problem in and lost an hour before teammate Baragwanath also stopped for almost 50 minutes. Things went even worse for Prodrive, as both Orlando Terranova and Vaidotas Zala’s Hunters retired.

Stéphane Peterhansel

The other two Hunters were however in the thick of it. Loeb passed Peterhansel’s petrol electric Audi to lead at the final waypoint. Teammate Chicherit moved up to third from Sainz, but the second Hunter also hit trouble in the final sector, leaving Loeb to take the day in the team’s second stage win on the trot.

Loeb beat Peterhansel by 14 seconds, as Sainz pipped Al Attiyah for third. Al Rajhi was fifth from Lategan, Ekstrom, and Toyota Hilux trio Lucio Moraes, de Villiers and Eric van Loon. All of which means Attiyah continues to lead Al Rajhi by 18 minutes overall, with Peterhansel mere seconds behind in third from Sainz, Lategan, Moraes, de Villiers and Ekstrom.

A BIG DAY 4 BIKE DICE TOO

On the bikes, Mason Klein moved ahead of Adrien van Beveren’s Honda and left him to fight with teammates Pablo Quintanilla and Juan Barreda through to the mid-stage open section. Botswana rider Ross Branch sat in 10th behind overall leader Daniel Sanders, while Docherty was 30th and Moore 34th. 

The top four fought it out as Barreda a passed Quintanilla for the win in the dying stages. Skyler Howes, Toby Price, van Beveren, Luciano Benavides, Kevin Benavides, and Sanders followed as Klein dropped back. Docherty rode home 25th and Moore 40th. Disaster struck for Hero as Branch ran out of fuel and Sebastien Bühler suffered an engine failure.

Charan Moore

Overall, Sanders leads Howes by three and a half minutes with Kevin Benavides and Barreda Bort both within four minutes of the leader in third and fourth. Price follows from Klein, Quintanilla, and van Beveren. Docherty was provisionally 25th overall and sat a very close second among the rookies, while Moore in 33rd, still leads the Malle Moto Original Dakar no service class. Gregory was still running in 81st at the time of writing, Landman 95th, Wilken 105th and Branch 116th. 

Giroud led Flores and Laisvydas Kancius in the quads, while Lopez was ahead of Joao Ferreira and Jones, with Minnitt 15th and Basson 17th in T3. Yasir Seidan led Rodrigo De Oliveira and Battista in the T4 buggies. Alais Loprais’ Praga truck led Gert Huzink’s Renault and Martin Macik’s Praga.

A short, but tough 373 km stage of mainly sand and dunes once again around Ha’il follows on Thursday as Dakar 2023 reaches one-third mark.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3GhKtWA