On this stage of two halves, with 279 kilometres against the clock, the competitors first did battle on a thick layer of sand, sometimes in the form of dunes, but not always off-piste. For the last hundred or more kilometres before the finish, the contest concluded on fast tracks with several rocky portions, requiring plenty of watchfulness. This terrain was a familiar one for the Benavides brothers, who produced the best two times in the bike category. The common ground that they share with Mattias Ekström and Stéphane Peterhansel, who gave Audi a one-two finish on the stage, is that they have all lost any hope of overall triumph in Yanbu.
They arrived in AlUla with legitimately loftier ambitions. Title holder Kevin Benavides and world champion Luciano Benavides both saw any perspectives of triumph disappear into the distance during the first week of the race. It is not yet totally out of the question for the KTM rider, who, with his stage victory in Ha’il, has climbed up to 5th place in the general rankings, 20 minutes nevertheless behind Ricky Brabec, but it is very unlikely for his younger brother on a Husqvarna, in 8th position, trailing by almost 40 minutes. Following 2023, on which the Argentinean siblings left their mark, in Ha’il they accomplished a first family one-two in their careers on the Dakar, as consolation for not occupying the leading roles as they had hoped.
Ahead of them, the thrilling battle is well and truly underway between the big shots in the category. In view of the intermediate rankings during the stage, it is reasonable to think that the strategy of applying the brakes served as a benchmark for the title contenders. Having led for most of the special, the American general rankings leader finally finished with the 7th best time, putting him in an advantageous starting position for tomorrow’s stage, while Ross Branch went one step better with 8th place. Adrien Van Beveren, who sensed the problem a little too late, inherited 3rd place which may not do him any good when all his Honda colleagues will be hot on his heels on the way to AlUla.
Stéphane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekström also began the Dakar dreaming of lifting the trophy in Yanbu. Their hopes were respectively crushed in the Empty Quarter and on yesterday’s stage, but today they scored a one-two finish for Audi with many benefits, notably putting their road captain Carlos Sainz in a good position for rest of the rally.
“I think there’s still a long way for me and there are long stages to come. You can see how easy it is to lose five or ten minutes on this race. It’s so easy, due to navigation, punctures, everything… It’s very stressful. But it was all good today”. – Carlos Sainz
The Spaniard will still be wary of a comeback from Sébastien Loeb, even if the Frenchman lost an opportunity to close in on the general rankings leader following a navigation mistake that led to a 5 kilometre detour in the Saudi countryside. “We lost almost all that we gained yesterday” is a phrase that could aptly sum up the life of Loeb on the Dakar in recent years. He now needs a run a run of four days without making a single mistake if he hopes to dislodge his rival from the lead. In the fight for the rest of the places, Guerlain Chicherit enjoyed the best performance, climbing from 8th to 6th place in the general rankings and forming a sequence of four Toyotas, behind Lucas Moraes (3rd), Guillaume de Mevius (4th) and Giniel de Villiers (5th), who are pursuing the Sainz/Loeb duo at a distance.
In the Challenger class, Mitch Guthrie boasts a sufficiently thick time cushion over Cristina Gutiérrez to not need to hoover up every second and minute. It is perhaps this context which enabled Saleh Alsaif to win for the first time in the category. In the SSV race, however, Xavier de Soultrait will be beginning to look worriedly over his shoulder to see João Ferreira quickly approaching during this second week of the race: the Portuguese driver won today’s special and now only trails the leader by 7’41’’.
Calm most certainly reigns supreme in the cabin of Martin Macík’s truck. His nearest pursuer is none other than young Mitch van den Brink, who already won his first stage last year at the age of 20 years and has once again tasted victory the day after his 22nd birthday.
