Indeed, we could list the damage recorded on each of the stages in one category or another. However, there was no escaping that the journey from AlUla to Yanbu was a significant step, the moment of truth for the pretenders to the crown. Over the 420 kilometres against the clock, the leaders were intent on holding strong and their pursuers were determined to attack. Ricky Brabec was equal to the task, still unshakeable despite Ross Branch’s stage victory, and Carlos Sainz was able to take advantage of Sébastien Loeb’s setbacks.
Everything was still possible… but only relatively speaking in the bike category, in which the Monster Energy Honda Team had locked up the leader’s position for Ricky Brabec. With the pact accepted by all the reds, there was still the issue of second place to be settled, a place accessible to Adrien Van Beveren, who is on top form, or also Nacho Cornejo, both of whom started the day less than 4 minutes behind Ross Branch. The Chilean’s case was settled after 111 km, where he had to struggle with his bike to solve a fuel pump problem. In the meantime, the South African Hero rider, who was the fifth biker to start, took advantage to climb up the stage rankings and grab his second win of the week, while gaining a little on Brabec, skilfully protecting his second place in the general rankings. Adrien Van Beveren also kept hold of his third place, despite a major fright when an unexpected encounter with a herd of dromedaries ended with a heavy tumble.
“It was way better than last year’s same stage. I enjoyed it, it was good fun. For sure, it was a tough stage and really, really rocky all the time, but I enjoyed it and tried to put the hammer down. I think I’ve left it a little bit too late. Ricky is riding an amazing race and he deserves to be where he is. We’ve just got to keep on fighting and see what we can do for tomorrow, for the last day. I definitely lost time in the camel grass. I’ve got a bit of work to do in the camel grass and the off-piste stuff. I’m just not confident and fast enough there. I know where I’ve lost it and it gives me motivation to go home and I’ll have another year to work on it. First thing on the list is going to find some camel grass and doing some training there. It’s always good knowing you’ve got somebody behind you with the same bike, if there’s something that you need then they’re there quickly, but I don’t think it changed the race, I don’t think it changed the strategy. We just gave it our best all day, every day and I’m proud of the team, they’ve worked so hard. Just to finish is going to be a big bonus for us. If we can get on that podium that will be really cool for all of us. They’ve worked really hard and I take my hat of to them, with the endless hours they’ve done. I’ve also worked hard and to everybody back home, for all the support, it’s been incredible. There’s one more day to go, 180 km of the Dakar 2024, so let’s enjoy it. I’m not too sure of the times, I’m not too sure of what happened to Nacho. You know, we don’t get on the bike to finish second. So, we’ll give it our all and hope for the best”. Ross Branch
There were no more twists in the tale on two wheels, but the plot developments in the Ultimate class of the car category were even more spectacular, with the duel between Sainz and Loeb causing live tracking addicts to break out in cold sweats throughout the day. As Loeb’s adventures unfolded, the race scenarios changed several times. The BRX driver was able to save his place on the podium but owes this chiefly to the first major setback experienced on the Dakar by Lucas Moraes. With a time loss of more than two hours, the Brazilian came down to earth with a bang, from 3rd place to 9th place in the race hierarchy, to be precise. On the contrary, Guerlain Chicherit, still demonstrating fine pace at the end of this edition of the Dakar, continued to climb up the rankings and has now reached 4th place thanks to a second consecutive stage success won as an opener. To climb onto the podium tomorrow, he will have to gain 7 minutes over 175 kilometres from Sébastien Loeb, while opening once again, which is far from a simple equation.
In the Challenger class, it is very unlikely that Mitch Guthrie will fall from the top of the category thanks to his 25-minute lead over Cristina Gutiérrez, but the couple formed by Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini will be looking for a hat-trick tomorrow after winning a second consecutive stage. However, Xavier de Soultrait will have to keep a very close eye on his nearest pursuer in the SSV race hierarchy, namely Jérôme de Sadeleer, who is 2’49’’ behind the Frenchman. In the truck race, despite the 10th stage win of his career, Aleš Loprais has still not managed to bring the time between himself and Martin Macík to below two hours. The latter will have the honour of flying the Czech flag at the top of the final general rankings and proudly draping himself in its folds on the podium in Yanbu tomorrow evening.
