Stage 9: Resumption

Let’s talk numbers. After covering 3,092 timed kilometers of the Dakar Rally, there were still 1,214 kilometers ahead, and they promised to be even more memorable. Thirty-four bikes dropped out of the race, as well as 20 car/UTV crews so far. The daily distances of stages after the rest day finally dropped from 800-900 kilometer days to 686 kilometers on Stage 9, with 358 of them filled with difficult wadis, canyons, and dunes. 

Competitors normally use the rest day to rethink strategy, and we can see the results. The teams that have a good position at stake try to avoid mistakes, while others farther down the order go all-in and try to make a mark on the legendary race. As a result, there are many new names in the stage rankings. One of two Saudi female racers, Danial Akeel, was leading the stage for some time, but finished seventh for the day. Argentinian David Zille won his first ever Dakar stage. Last year his team closed in on the top ten, and this year they wanted to evaluate where they were in terms of speed. With over 20 hours of penalties they were out of the top ten for sure, but it wouldn’t feel so bad with a stage win in their pocket.

Just three seconds behind Akeel was the overall leader, De Mevius. Due to Jones’ technical problems he managed to build on his lead, increasing it from three to 12 minutes. Quintero and Jones finished the day in ninth and tenth place, while Mitch Guthrie finished third. “Today was alright, but not our best day,” said Jones. “We had a couple of technical issues with the car setup and stuff like that, so it was a little bit frustrating, but we made it and we didn’t have any major problems other than that,” Jones was eagerly anticipating the Empty Quarter the following day.

T3 Top Five Stage/Overall Results

1. #329 Zille (ARG) / Cesana (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
2. #304 De Mevius (BEL) / Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
3. #314 Guthrie (USA) / Walch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #328 Porem (PRT) / Sanz (ARG), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
5. #339 Basson (ZAF) / Pienaar (ZAF), GRALLYTEAM

It is really amazing how the different teams in differently prepared vehicles can cover the vast distances through the diverse challenging terrain within mere seconds of each other! The average speed is probably very close to human limits. That’s why the gaps between the leaders are so small, and they grow closer toward the top of rankings. 

As the stage dust settled, the overall leader finished in second place, sandwiched between the two Goczals in first and third. All of them were within less than a minute from each other. Two Argentinian teams rounded out the top five, with the #411 husband and wife team of Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini enjoying the Dakar as a romantic experience. That would definitely be a good memory to recall over a glass of Malbec back in Cordoba.

The day was, however, marred by a tragic event. A rare Dakar happens without a fatal accident. This time it was not a racer, but an Italian spectator. He was unfortunate enough to be behind a dune when the truck of the Czech ranking leader Ales Loprais crossed it, colliding with him. The fan was airlifted to the hospital but passed away while in flight. Spectators are always warned about the danger of races like Dakar, but they still want to get closer to the action and take the best shot, which can be fatal. 

The crash was not Loprais’s fault. He was racing and couldn’t see the person he hit. However, the incident is still being investigated. This was a terrible occurrence on Loprais’ birthday, January 10. He was unaware that the spectator had died until the end of the stage, at which point he was devastated. Loprais turned himself in to the authorities for the investigation the following day and quit the race. This would once again remind everyone about the importance of safety along the track.

T4 Top Five Stage/Overall Results

1. #428 E.Goczal (POL) / Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
2. #400 Baciuska (LTU) / Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #405 Goczal (POL) / Gospodarczyk (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #402 Farres Guell (ESP) / Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #411 Cavigliasso (ARG) / Pertegarini (ARG), CAVIGISSIO

Stage 10: Entering the Void

Sand dunes are mesmerizing, hypnotizing, and dangerous. After some time floating through the eternal sand waves of the Empty Quarter under the scorching sun, you inevitably get some distortions of perception. Dunes seem to look the same, but you never know what’s behind the next one. You need to be constantly alert or you could be out of the race in a second. This merciful warm-up desert stage of 114 kilometers was designed to get the caravan ready for tomorrow’s longer marathon day deeper into the middle of nowhere. The liaison was long though, 510 kilometers in total. 

Seth Quintero, raised in the dunes of California, showed off his skills, adding another stage win to his collection. However, there was still an entire hour between him and his desired first place position. 

De Mevius finished in twelfth place today, having some adventure on the way. “We started the stage with a roll in the dunes,” he said. “It was quite a scary moment, but some members of the public helped us get back on the way, so thank you to them. We had to change a wheel because we’d damaged a tire. We lost quite a bit of time. It was quite difficult to find our rhythm on the dunes. It was very different from the beginning of the race. Now it’ll be like this for some days.” He still keeps the throne, but Austin Jones posted a better time today, finishing sixth and narrowing the gap from 12 to seven minutes. With three days ahead, there was no room for mistakes in this battle.

Two Yamahas finished in the top five along with the Can-Ams. Ignacio Casale and Ricardo Porem showed that the turbo prototypes were doing well during their first test in combat conditions. 

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #301 Quintero (USA) / Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #322 Casale (CHL) / Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
3. #319 Rodrigues (PRT) / Reis (PRT), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #328 Porem (PRT) / Sanz (ARG), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
5. #302 Gutierrez (ESP) / Moreno (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM

T4 participants compared this stage with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, with dunes of all shapes, sometimes very sharp. Some Modified Production SSVs flew through the stage, while others complained about sea sickness and tires falling off rims. It was a great day for the Dakar moto veteran Gerard Farres Guell, who won the stage and confirmed his third place in the general rankings. He was followed by the Goczals and Baciuska, who are right there with him in both daily and general rankings.

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #402 Farres Guell (ESP) / Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
2. #401 M.Goczal (POL) / Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
3. #428 E.Goczal (POL) / Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #400 Baciuska (LTU) / Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
5. #412 Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG) / Gonzalo Rinaldi (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 11: Twists and Turns

A total of 273 kilometers of dunes and salt marshes today would lead competitors to a private party where service trucks and mechanics were not invited: the Marathon Bivouac. The most important thing to do on the marathon stage is to keep your vehicle in one piece, as there’s no one to help you repair it overnight. 

It was a very eventful day for the Lightweight Prototypes, starting with a triple win for the Yamaha team, who was feeling more and more confident in their YXZs every day. The trio of Porem, Ferreira, and Casale made the manufacturer proud, landing on the podium within just 22 seconds of each other. “The Empty Quarter is amazing and I liked the stage a lot,” said Porem. “The sand wasn’t that soft, it was okay. With the Yamaha, the dunes are amazing. The car is very fast on the dunes. We are happy that we have finished the first part of the marathon stage without problems. That was the main goal for today. There’s nothing to do in the car. It’s all ok”.

Stage wins are cool, but with few days remaining, the focus was more on the overall rankings. There was a major shift here with bad luck for some, and good luck for others. It was not a lucky day for former leader De Mevius, who lost a whole hour and 38 minutes fixing a mechanical issue at the beginning of the stage. Austin Jones took full advantage of this opportunity, running a smooth stage and finishing on top. Now 55 minutes separate him from teammate Seth Quintero in second place. A whole hour and a half separate Jones from the previous leader. 

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #328 Porem (PRT) / Sanz (ARG), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
2. #337 Ferreira (PRT) / Palmeiro (PRT), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
3. #322 Casale (CHL) / Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
4. #303 Jones (USA) / Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #301 Quintero (USA) / Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG

There was nothing new, however, among the Modified Production SSVs. Today, we saw the same three names on top of both the daily and overall rankings, Rokas Baciuska and the Goczal father-and-son duo. There was, however, one Polaris out of the game. With the withdrawal of #442 Carlo Cinotto / Arnoletti Marko, the Xtreme Polaris Factory team continued to move toward Japanese Racer Shinsuke Umeda, leading the four remaining crews. As experience shows, there would be more victims tomorrow, as the marathon stage can be merciless to the less tech-savvy teams that went to relax in the tents instead of double-checking everything on the vehicles.

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #400 Baciuska (LTU) / Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
2. #428 E.Goczal (POL) / Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
3. #401 M.Goczal (POL) / Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #437 Batista (BRA) / Mota (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #410 Seaidan (SAU) / Kuzmich (UAE), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 12: Americans on Top

The second day of the marathon stage gave the thrill seekers the last 185 kilometers to enjoy the huge dunes, alternating with high-speed sandy plateaus. The overall ranking remained the same. As Jones enjoyed a comfortable lead of an hour and a half, De Mevius kept pushing to try to get closer to at least Seth Quintero in second place. “It’s good to be on the podium, but for sure I’d prefer to be first,” the Belgian said. “We will see the tactic for tomorrow and the day after.” While they are fighting for the top spot, Mitch Guthrie stayed calm and collected the stage wins, adding a fourth one to his collection.

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #314 Guthrie (USA) / Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #322 Casale (CHL) / Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM 
3. #304 De Mevius (BEL) / Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
4. #302 Gutierrez (ESP) / Moreno (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
5. #303 Jones (USA) / Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG

The top five in T4 were predominantly Polish. All three Goczals made it to the top five on the stage, and Michal Goczal won the stage despite being sick. In the overall rankings, only seven minutes now separated the incredibly fast teenager Eryk Goczal from the frontrunner Baciuska. The Polish clan shared their strategy for the coming days. “I felt a little sick for three days, and this morning was the peak. But for some reason when I feel bad, I win,” Michal shared. “I like the stage, 50% fast plateaus, and big dunes. I hope Eryk will win. For the two next stages I will go as support for him.” 

Rocas Baciuska, who was careful on this stage to preserve the car, said that his strategy from now on was to put the pedal to the metal and gain some minutes and seconds. He said that with an hour gap he could just cruise and enjoy the view, but with rivals breathing down his neck the Red Bull athlete would have to push. 

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #405 M.Goczal (POL)/ Gospodarczyk (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM 
2. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #401 M.Goczal (POL)/ Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #428 E.Goczal (POL)/ Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
5. #402 Farres Guell (ESP)/ Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 13: Almost There

As the culmination of the two week race approached, the shorter the stages, and the higher the tension. Stakes were as high as ever as the caravan followed the 154 kilometer special out of the Empty Quarter, enjoying (or not enjoying) the last sequence of broken dunes. 

There was no drama in T3 today. Jones successfully kept his rivals at bay, finishing ninth on the stage but holding onto first place overall. Seth Quintero was fast, finishing in third place just seven seconds behind Casale in his Yamaha prototype, and reducing the gap by 10 minutes. Jones barely noticed this in his rear-view mirror, and with a comfortable 54-minute lead, he could take it easy tomorrow with the only goal of reaching the finish in one piece. 

On Stage 13, Guthrie did it again! That made five stage wins for the all-American crew, and Mitchell couldn’t hide his excitement as he shared impressions and talked about his vehicle of choice: “Of course, we’ve had our low moments, but at one point we were leading the overall rally and have five stage wins. We are excited about that. We didn’t have a ton of time in the new car, so for our first race here, we are really excited with how the race has gone. 

The engineers have worked up a car that fits in 2023 T3 specs, so this is actually the first race we were not in the open class. In the previous races like in Dubai, with the 32-inch tires, we’ve been in a different class. We got a three-cylinder engine. It’s a prototype car, so everything is fairly customized on it. The team here, MCE-5 team has done amazing developing this car, improving it, and doing everything they can to make it better and better. And we have FIA here, checking things to make sure we are within the standards. I think we are looking good. We are excited about what’s to come with this car. We’ll always be improving and will see you at the next race.” 

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #314 Guthrie (USA )/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #322 Casale (CHL) / Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM 
3. #301 Quintero (USA) / Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #328 Porem (PRT) / Sanz (ARG), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
5. #302 Gutierrez (ESP) / Moreno (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM

If you compare the modified production SSVs to the well-pumped prototypes with more powerful engines and bigger wheels, T4s are not that much slower. Over 13 days of racing, the T3 leader Jones ran the whole course in 50 hours, 31 minutes, and 59 seconds, while T4’s fastest, Baciuska, did it in 51 hours, 41 minutes, and 34 seconds. He would be third in T3, right behind Quintero! 

The Lithuanian would probably not sleep tonight. In the run-up to the next day’s short, decisive stage, “Dakar’s baby” Eryk Goczal managed to win the stage and reduce the time difference between them to just three and a half minutes. With almost two eventful weeks behind them, it will be the last day that will decide everything. 

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #428 E.Goczal (POL) / Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
2. #400 Baciuska (LTU) / Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #410 Seaidan (SAU) / Kuzmich (UAE), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #407 Navarro (ESP) / Metge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM
5. #401 M.Goczal (POL) / Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM

Stage 14: “Two years in a row, baby!”

On the last very short and fast beach stage from Al-Hofuf to Dammam, there was not much room to jockey for position, but competitors could still lose the results of the entire two-week effort in a second. Or, they could keep a cool head and bring it home, as Austin Jones did. To win the Dakar, you need a combination of skill, speed, sustainability, and luck. 

Speaking of teams, this Dakar has been amazing for the newly-formed alliance of Red Bull and Can-Am, Four of their crews ended in the top five. The only one who didn’t, #314 Mitch Guthrie / Kellon Walch, still scored the biggest stage wins in the class. But the G-Rally team in OT3s and Yamahas are breathing down their necks, so next year the competition seems to be even hotter.

After the grueling 9,000 kilometers of the race, full of dramatic twists and turns, 38 lightweight prototypes out of 47 managed to get to the finish line, and 39 out of 45 SSVs. For each of them, it’s a reason to be proud and time to celebrate. What a way to start a year! And for the American team, it’s time to rest, regroup, and get ready for the next adventure. We will be there to tell you about it when the time comes!