KTM Takes Lead At Dakar

Posted on January 11, 2023

 

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Kevin Benavides has placed fourth on today’s stage 10 of the 2023 Dakar Rally and moves into the provisional lead of the overall standings. Toby Price completed the day in 19th but still lies third overall, just two minutes back, while Matthias Walkner enjoyed a solid day on his KTM 450 RALLY, placing fifth.

Ross Branch started the special in 28th place and quietly posted the fastest time at each checkpoint. In the end, he won the stage by 21 seconds over Van Beveren, adding a second victory to his tally in this Dakar and landing Hero MotoSports its third stage win ever. It will have little impact on the standings, as a slew of mechanicals in the early part of the race knocked the Botswanan out of contention for the title. Docherty came in third, 30" back, with Kevin Benavides at 1 minute.

Riders left the bivouac at 3:30am this morning to cover the 467-kilometer liaison that led them to the start of today’s timed special. Although short at 114 kilometers, the route raced against the clock was predominantly made up of rolling dunes, making navigation difficult and proving a real test of endurance for all competitors.

As the seventh rider into the special following his strong performance on stage nine, Benavides was in contention for the stage win right away. Carrying good speed over the sandy terrain, the 2021 Dakar winner was just 10 seconds down on the leader by kilometer 84. Losing a little time in the closing stages, Benavides dropped to fourth place as he crossed the line, one minute from the win. However, with times tight across the top 10, Kevin’s solid ride moved him into the lead of the rally, where he enjoys a one-and-a-half-minute advantage.

After losing time in the desert yesterday following a navigational error, Matthias Walkner bounced back in style on stage 10. Posting the fifth fastest time on the demanding special, Walkner moves back inside the top 10 overall and will be aiming to elevate himself even higher over the remaining four days of racing.

Toby Price was the second rider to enter today’s special, and again, using his skill and experience to good effect, chose to navigate carefully through the dunes to minimize any costly errors. With the leaders’ times extremely close over the short special, Toby ultimately completed the day in 19th, but only eight minutes down on the leader. As such, the Aussie remains very much in contention near the top of the overall standings where he now lies third.

Winner on day nine, Luciano Benavides had the unenviable task of leading out into today’s 10th stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally. The Argentine racer did an impeccable job however, opening the stage from start to finish to ultimately post the 13th quickest time. Teammate Skyler Howes took a conservative approach to today’s special, minimising the chance of any navigational mistakes and ensuring an advantageous start position for Thursday’s first half of the marathon stage.

Continuing to deliver solid and calculated rides at this year’s Dakar, Luciano Benavides confidently took on the challenge of opening the first stage that entered the dunes of the Empty Quarter and excelled. Riding alone up front for the entire 114 kilometres, Benavides lost the minimum time to his rivals while also ensuring a strong start position for tomorrow. Completing the day in 13th, six minutes down on the eventual winner, Luciano retains his top-10 placing in the overall standings and is in the perfect position to attack tomorrow’s first leg of the marathon stage.

Also putting in a considered ride through the dunes today, Skyler Howes took some time to reacquaint himself with the Empty Quarter terrain and to ensure he made very little in the way of navigational errors. With Thursday’s stage 11 coming in at around twice the distance of today’s special, Skyler is fully aware of the importance of delivering a solid, mistake-free result on the way to the temporary bivouac of the marathon stage. Although Howes dropped down to second in the overall standings, he lies just one and a half minutes from the lead – time he hopes to make up tomorrow.

That’s stage 10 at the Dakar done and dusted for Daniel Sanders. With times at the top incredibly close due to today’s special being the shortest of the entire event, Sanders posted the 12th fastest time, finishing just over six minutes down on the stage winner. Perhaps not a great result on paper, it’s the overall time that matters most, and today Daniel clawed back vital seconds from the provisional leader while securing a perfect starting position for tomorrow’s first leg of the marathon stage. The race to the finish is just getting started.