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Dakar 2023 Stage 4 Results: Loeb And Bort Win As Rodrigues & Noah Crash Out
Stage 4 of Dakar 2023 saw Sebastian Loeb and Joan Barreda Bort claim wins in the cars and bikes categories. Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah and GasGas rider Daniel Sanders continue to lead the overall standings after Stage 4.
Stage 4 of Dakar 2023 saw Sebastian Loeb and Joan Barreda Bort claim wins in the cars and bikes categories. Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah and GasGas rider Daniel Sanders continue to lead the overall standings after Stage 4.
Stage 4 of Dakar saw the riders and drivers do a loop around Ha'il which covered a total of 574 kilometres of sand dunes, gravel, dried-out river and salt lake beds. Today's stage included a 425km long special stage.
Bikes
Dakar legend Joan Barreda Bort claimed his 29th stage win at the Dakar Rally today. The Spanish rider, nicknamed Bang Bang lived up to his nickname as he blasted his way across the final section of the special stage to claim victory with a time of 4 hours, 28 minutes and 18 seconds.
Bort beat Monster Energy Honda's Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla to the top spot by just 16 seconds. Husqvarna's American rider Skyler Howes claimed the third spot with a time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 23 seconds taking advantage of 3 minutes and 35 seconds worth of bonuses he earned while riding across the sands of Saudi Arabia today.
It wasn't a good day in the saddle at Dakar 2023 for Indian fans as the only Indian rider in the race, Sherco's Harith Noah crashed out of the race today. Noah fell after 107 kilometres of today's special stage and was rushed to the hospital at Ha'il by the Dakar medical team where medical examinations revealed that he had suffered fractured vertebra but no neurological damage.
Sherco's other two riders thankfully completed the day without too much trouble with Spanish rider Lorenzo Santolino coming home in 9th place, 10 minutes and 28 seconds behind Bort. Sherco's other rider, Portugal's Rui Goncalves finished the day in 30th, 53 minutes and 13 seconds behind the stage winner.
Hero Motorsports also did not have a day to remember as the team's only Dakar Stage winner Joaquim Rodrigues also crashed out of the race today. Rodrigues suffered a fall after the 90km mark of today's special and injured his left leg and was taken to the hospital in Ha'il by the Dakar medical team.
Among Hero's other riders in the fray, only Franco Caimi had a decent day in the saddle. The Argentine rider finished the stage in 17th overall with a time of 4:48:11, 19 minutes and 53 seconds behind Bort. Hero's other two riders did not fare well either today. Sebastian Buhler, who ran out of fuel in the first half of the stage finished 93rd overall, 3 hours, 14 minutes and 26 seconds behind the stage winner Bort. Ross Branch who had big mechanical issues after the 178km mark hasn't been classified at the time of the writing of this report.
In the overall rankings, GasGas rider Daniel Sanders continues to lead Dakar 2023. Sanders is currently 3 minutes and 33 seconds ahead of Skyler Howes in second. The final podium spot is occupied by KTM's Kevin Benavides who is 4 minutes and 5 seconds behind Sanders.
Lorenzo Santolino is currently the best-ranked Sherco rider in 11th, 28 minutes and 37 seconds behind the leader. Caimi is the best-ranked of the Hero riders in the 13th spot and sits 48 minutes and 6 seconds behind Sanders. Sherco's Rui Goncalves is next in the 19th spot and sits 1 hour, 52 minutes and 27 seconds behind the overall leader, Daniel Sanders. Hero's Sebastian Buhler is 3 hours 43 minutes and 40 seconds behind the leader and sits 38th overall.
Cars
The cars division saw a pitched battle for first place between Bahrain Raid Xtreme's Sebastian Loeb and Audi Sport's Stephane Peterhansel with the French WRC legend emerging victorious by just 13 seconds.
Loeb finished the stage in 4 hours, 11 minutes and 34 seconds despite suffering from a loss of power steering in the ending sections of the stage, which he claims cost him around 10 minutes. Peterhansel finished 2nd with a time of 4 hours, 11 minutes and 47 seconds in his Audi Sport hybrid racer. Audi Sport's Carlos Sainz Sr claimed the final podium spot. El Matador finished today's running in 4 hours, 13 minutes and 24 seconds, a minute and 50 seconds behind Loeb.
In the overall standing, Nasser Al-Attiyah (who finished the stage in 4th) continues to lead proceedings and has now opened a gap of 18 minutes and 18 seconds over Saudi driver Nasser Al Rajhi. Peterhansel is currently third overall, 18 minutes and 52 seconds behind Al-Attiyah.
Thoughts About Dakar 2023 Stage 4
The fourth stage of Dakar 2023 saw riders driving through every sort of terrain from gravel beds to salt lake beds with a dose of sand and dunes thrown in along with some tarmac work. Sebastian Loeb bounced back after two disappointing days to claim the stage win while Dakar legend Bort claimed his 29th stage win at the Dakar.
However, it was not a good day for Indian supporters as the only Indian rider in the race crashed out of the Dakar today as did Hero's Joaquim Rodrigues.
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