Aussies gain ground over Dakar Stage Five as Honda dominate again

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage Five
Al Hofuf > Shubaytah

Stage five took in 118 km of sand dunes through Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter as riders made their first tracks into the jaw-dropping landscapes towards Shubaytah. An early 0330 start adding to the challenge.

Setting off early from the Al-Hofuf bivouac, riders were also faced with an arduous, energy zapping 527 kilometre road section which would require some serious concentration on the bike, before they were then thrown into the deep dunes on what was a hot day in the Eastern Province.

Pablo Quintanilla made his mark on the short run in the first of the big dunes claiming the stage victory. Tean-mate Adrien Van Beveren took second place on the stage, the Frenchman using his vast sand riding experience to get back up to the sharp end by being fastest for much of the day before dropping just 37-seconds to his team-mate.

Pablo Quintanilla – P1

“After two awful days everything fell into place. I went flat out but it wasn’t easy because the glare of the sun made it hard to see the tracks. It was tough but I managed to set a fast pace and had a great stage. I wasn’t expecting this type of soft sand because I heard it had rained in the last few days, but I had fun anyway on my bike. I’m happy to be in this position ahead of the 48 Hour Chrono, it’ll help me and perhaps unlock some opportunities.”

Adrien Van Beveren – P2

“It really was a sprint today and when I caught up with Ross (Branch) I seemed to lose a bit of rhythm. But I feel really good and I love dunes. I worked a lot with Honda to make this bike perform well in these conditions, so I will be prepared for this epic 48 Hour Chrono.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price delivered a strong performance on the short but technically demanding stage to finish third fastest.

Toby Price – P3

“It was quite a tough stage today – not very long, but it was hot and there were some challenging sections in the dunes. I’m happy though, I got through with some good pace. I missed a couple of drops, which got the heart rate up a little bit. But all in all, I’m happy with my speed and the result. Heading into tomorrow, I should have a good starting position for the long chrono stage, so my plan is to get through safely, try and conserve a little energy and the bike, and hopefully head into the rest day in a strong position overall.”

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders came out swinging on the short but intense special too, posting the fourth-fastest time, even after a couple of small falls in the sand dunes.

Chucky secured his best result of the event so far, finishing less than three-minutes behind the provisional stage winner, promoting the Aussie back into the outright top ten.

Daniel Sanders – P4

“A little bit better today. It was hot out there and the stage was short and fast with a lot of sandy drops. I had a couple of small crashes, which tested the old leg out, and it was all good. I felt great on the bike today, too. It’s the big stage up next and I hope the weather is a little bit cooler than today because it’s going to be a long day. For now though, I’m going to be rehydrating and refueling myself in preparation for tomorrow.”

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Kove’s Mason Klein completed the top-five for the stage, followed by Hero’s Ross Branch, with Ricky Brabec not far behind, less than a minute separating the trio on the timesheets.

Ricky Brabec – P7

“It definitely wasn’t that easy today, we woke up at 3.30am and we had a big stretch of highway to ride before we got to play in the sand, so it was pretty tiring just doing that. We had a short special which felt like a kind of prologue for the chrono stage. I started second today which wasn’t ideal as we’d started upfront yesterday too so typically I knew we would lose time. But overall it was good, I caught Nacho around the 50 km mark and then from there to the finish we both made a big push going as fast as we could.”

Stefan Svitko, Tobias Ebster and Skyler Howes then rounded out the top 10, with the top-20 riders only separated by nine-minutes, reflecting the shortened special.

Skyler Howes – P10

“Today was only a short stage but it was a very tiring day because of the liaison distance. It was an early morning and then a very hot day in the dunes as well, so it took me a little while to find the flow this morning. About half way through the stage I started to catch the guys in front of me which gave me a little bit more motivation and I gained more confidence in the bike. I’m feeling better and today was a positive day as I made no navigation mistakes, so I think we’re in a decent position for the chrono stage starting tomorrow.”

Setting off as the third rider into stage five following his top-three result from day four, Benavides was faced with the unenviable task of being one of the first riders to navigate through the soft sand and dunes of the special.

The reigning Dakar champion did an excellent job however, losing the minimum of time to his rivals to complete the stage in provisional 13th place, just over five minutes behind the winner.

Kevin Benavides – P13

“It was a short but fast stage in the dunes today. Quite open in some places, but a lot slower in others with some big drops that we really had to take care on. I set off third into the stage but really tried to make up as much time as I could ahead of Thursday’s chrono stage. It was tricky to see properly in some places due to the sun, so I did my best to get through the stage as quickly and safely as possible. I’ll now get rested and prepared for tomorrow.”

Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides  completed the 645-kilometre stage, posting the ninth-quickest time. Unfortunately, after suffering a technical issue with his FR 450 Rally in the final five kilometres of the timed special, the Argentinian received a 15-minute penalty for a required engine change, which has dropped him down the overall standings.

Luciano Benavides

“It wasn’t a great day for me. I felt good in the dunes as that is the sort of terrain that I like, I was pushing hard and was in second or third place for a while. Unfortunately, I then had some technical issues in the last five kilometres of the special, so I lost some time there. I managed to get to the end but overall it hasn’t been an ideal day.”

Branch leads, Price and Sanders both in top-10

Ross Branch now leads the overall standings by the narrowest of margins, 14s ahead of Jose Cornejo, with third placed Ricky Brabec 3m47s off leading pace.

Adrien Van Beveren (+18m10) and Kevin Benavides (+21m17) round out the top five, followed by Pablo Quintanilla (+26m47), Toby Price (+31m36) in seventh and Daniel Sanders in eighth (+37m44).

Stage Six Route

Next up is the mammoth 48 Hour Chrono which will be the biggest test of this year’s event with David Castera, the Dakar Rally organiser, already admitting he won’t be gaining many fans after it.   Hidden waypoints will prove to be a navigation nightmare if the fatigued competitors lose their focus.

With a reverse starting order in place from today’s results, Quintanilla will be the one to benefit as he will set off last out of all the RallyGP riders.  With a total of 835 km to ride, the special will contribute a hefty 626 km as the Empty Quarter dunes will look to take no prisoners at the halfway point of the rally.

Just to throw an extra spanner into the works they’ll have no access to the outside world, so they’ll be unaware where they are on the stage or in relation to their rivals. Action restarts on Friday morning at 7 am where they’ll complete the stage back to Shubaytah and a much needed rest day in Riyadh further north.

2024 Dakar Rally Stage Five Results

2024 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Five

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule