DAKAR RALLY 2023

For the 45th time, several hundred petrolheads, adventure seekers, professional racers, amateurs, and dreamers gathered in the desert to celebrate the feast of speed and endurance. Traditionally, the Dakar Rally organizers promised to make it harder and did not disappoint – this year the race boasts the whole 14 Special Stages instead of 12, and almost 5,000 timed kilometers. For the fourth out of the agreed five years, the race is happening in Saudi Arabia, but for the first time in Saudi, the race will enter the unbroken sands of the Rub‘ al Khali desert, or Empty Quarter. 

For the second time in a row, the Dakar battle is fought on two fronts – racers compete for the title of the winner of the hardest rally on the planet, and also for the points in the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship (WRRC). This year, there are 355 crews at the Dakar in all classes with an unprecedented number of American participants – over a dozen! Our eyes are on two UTV categories: 47 “Lightweight prototypes” in T3 category, and 45 “Modified Production SSVs” in the T4. There are not many Americans among SSVs, but it’s about the quality, not about the quantity, right?

Stars and stripes are represented by the glorious 5: the 2021 Cross-Country Rally World Champion and Dakar 2022 winner Austin Jones; Dakar stage win record holder Seth Quintero; an all-American crew of Baja 1000 champ Mitchell Guthrie Junior and ex-moto rally racer Kellon Walch in the co-driver’s seat. With a lot of other fast contenders, such as Spaniard Christina Gutierrez, Belgian Gillaume de Mevius, Chileans Francisco Lopez Contardo and Ignacio Casale, and others, this year the T3 competition is going to be especially hot! 

The only American in the T4 category is the ex-motoracer Andrew Short, co-driving for the Australian Molly Tailor. After Austin Jones has left the category, “upgrading” to the T3, the odds-on favorites are Eastern European and Latin American teams. Eastern Europe is represented by the Polish Goczal clan: Marek Goczal, his brother Michal, and his son Eryk, who is officially the youngest ever Dakar participant, having just celebrated his 18th birthday 2 months ago. Another fast Eastern European here is Rokas Baciuska from Red Bull – Can-Am Factory Team, who debuted in the 2022 Dakar and finished third. Most vehicles in the category are Can-Ams, but the XTremePlus Polaris Factory team has a bigger presence this year, with 6 crews instead of 4. 

For the 14 crews in both T3 and T4, Dakar is only the beginning of the year-long journey through the other 4 World Rally-Raid Championship events. In T3, that will a battle between the newly formed alliance of Red-Bull and a Can-Am and Yamaha-X-Raid tandem; and in T4 that’s South Racing Can-Am against the Polaris, that returned to the big game and is represented by 2016 Dakar winner Michele Cinotto and Japan’s Shinsuke. More races ahead for these teams, but the Dakar is the longest and the toughest one, with twice as many points as a reward, so the stakes are double! 

Prologue: Coasting the Sea Camp

This year the race started in a “village unidentified by existing topographic surveys” – the Sea Camp bivouac of 3000 people. Sea Camp life means an amazing Red Sea view, but no hotels – that is, campers for the better-equipped teams and tents for the others, which would leave the racers, mechanics and team members exhausted already before the two-week race. But no one seemed worried about that too much. The hardest part of the Dakar is to get to the start line, and the racers are just happy to be here. 

As you walk around the bivouac on December 30, you see them packing, doing the final preps, passing the scrutineering and administrative inspection, and chatting with their friends-slash-rivals in anticipatory joy. You can see people from all walks of life. For example, Merce Marti, one of the 7 drivers of the Yamaha Racing Team, and out of 10 female participants in the category. She shares that she’s been doing competitive aircraft sports for over 25 years, has achieved everything possible, and now is up for a new adventure in rallies.

“Very excited to have Lizette Backer as a co-pilot. Completely women’s team again at Dakar, we look forward to doing our best. Our female project started in 2021 to give a possibility to the women in motorsport, especially in Dakar, and that’s the project we continue.” Her teammate, Camelia Liparoti shares that she’s excited to drive the new YXR1000R with new chassis, and most importantly, the new turbo engine – this Dakar will be the toughest test for it so far.

Austin Jones is also excited about the Dakar in a new class: “A couple of changes, new sponsors, new car, new class. We’ll be running T3 this time, that’s a big change. There’s a lot of difference between the T3 and T4, but the number one thing is the top speed. The T3 cars go a little bit faster, tire size is a big difference, and also the way that South Racing has produced these cars – a couple of little tricks here and there to make them nice. 47 T3 teams is a lot, it’s really good for the class, I prefer more people. It’s gonna be fun to race against that many people, a lot of really fast people out here.”

At the short 13-kilometer prologue, designed to determine the start order, the fastest were Spaniard Christina Gutierrez in T3 and young Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska in T4. But prologue victory only gives you the advantage of choosing the starting position for the next day. With this, let’s get into the real race! 

Stage 1: Punctured Ego

At the end of the day, it was the current Dakar and World Champion ‘Chaleco’ Lopez’s time to shine – he beat his Belgian opponent and a former Red Bull team member Guillaume de Mevius by a narrow margin of just 1 minute and 4 seconds. Seth Quintero and Austin Jones landed third and fourth, with 3 minutes from the leader and mere seconds between them. The first day has already taken one crew out of the race. French team #315 Michael Pisano/Mayeul Barbet in a Can-Am had to finish their ninth Dakar prematurely. 

Soon after the fireworks ceased to thunder, the game began at the first dawn of the year with 367 kilometers of a special stage, and 602,5 kilometers total. The day promised not too much tricky navigation, but all kinds of terrain – rocks, sand, and dunes. Engines roared, and racers rushed off into the Saudi desert – only to be held back by multiple punctures. Yesterday’s leader and 2021 Cross Country Rally World Champion Christina Gutierrez started well, but lost 20 minutes, having punctured two wheels.

T3 top five stage/overall results

1. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
2. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
3. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #322 Casale (CHL)/ Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM

Another teenager Pau Navarro, who’s already shown his driving masterpiece by winning his category in the Andalucia rally, arrived second. Both inherited their passion for speed from their racer fathers, both used to get their first rally experience as co-drivers and now both are making their fathers proud! “Feeling fabulous! Today at kilometer 19 we punctured a wheel and we saw my uncle and father overtaking us and then also puncturing their wheels soon after that. Within the same 10 kilometers all of us had flats,” shares Eryk. He dethroned Seth Quintero, becoming the youngest ever competitor to win a Dakar stage, but Quintero’s record of winning all the stages except for one would be hard to beat.

As you watch the competitor ranking on the Dakar website, some of the surnames are marked gold, which means “Dakar Legend” – over 10 participations. Others are marked with blue, which means Rookie – first time to conquer the hardest race on Earth. And this time, the gold had to give space to the blue on top – fast kids took charge of the T4 category on the day 1. After the initial stage leader Rokas Baciuska received a 15-minute penalty, it were two 18-year olds who pushed back more experienced rivals. Eryk Goczal, one of the three Goczals at the race, has won his first-ever Dakar special.

T4 top five stage/overall results

1. #428 E.Goczal (POL)/ Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
2. #407 Navarro (ESP)/ Merge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM
3. #405 Goczal (POL)/ Gospodarczyk (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #423 Fidel Medero (ESP)/ Ventaja Cruz (ESP), FN SPEED TEAM

Stage 2: Rock On! 

Al-‘Ula can be compared to Monument Valley in the U.S. – the desert features numerous rock formations of astonishing shapes and sizes. And that’s where the Dakar caravan headed out through the 420 kilometers of hard-packed and very rocky Special. One T3 team didn’t even make it to the start of the special. The all-female crew Merce Marti/Lizette Backer destroyed chassis on the Stage 1 and weren’t able to fix it to continue the race. Always a shame to be out in the beginning of the race, but the team expects to come back stronger next year. 

Day 2 was no less traumatic for the cars and crews. As the racers shared impressions of the stage, some of them would call that one of the most difficult that they had lately, also complaining about the broken front differentials, steering, and more punctured wheels of course – all due to the stones. New to the category, but not to the Dakar, A.J. Jones was leading a large chunk of the stage, then ceding leadership to yesterday’s winner Chaleco Lopez. Lopez started first and arrived at the finish line first…but eventually handed over the stage victory to the American Mitch Guthrie, who posted 1,25-minute better time! “Was a crazy long day filled with an insane amount of stones, we kept a steady pace all day and I’m stoked to have our first stage win. Still 12 long days to go, hoping to keep the momentum rolling,” Guthrie shares. 

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Walch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
5. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG

The stage leader admits the stage was hard: “It was one of the most challenging stages of Dakar in my life, a very demanding one. A lot of rocks, and by the end, it was very dark and I had no lights. We saw a lot of cars that stopped due to mechanical issues, even in the first 20 kilometers, I counted up to 6 and stopped counting – there were a lot of them, and they were missing parts. We also lost one wheel as we were fighting with Luppi (de Oliveira), it was a tight fight in a nice rocky section. I thought he’d puncture a wheel first, but that was me. It was a stage I will remember for sure.”

In T4, it was father over son this time. After the hard stage took the participants through the narrow rocky paths over the mountains, Marek Goczal tops the stage and overall classification, while his son and brother are not even in the top-3 anymore. Latin American teams take up the next 3 places on stage – ex-quad racer Jeremías González Ferioli from Argentina, who couldn’t participate last year due to a positive COVID test, Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira from Brazil, who debuted in the Dakar last year and finished 6th, and Sebastián Guayasamín from Ecuador, who “descended” from the car categories.

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #401 M.Goczal (POL)/ Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
2. #412 Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG)/ Gonzalo Rinaldi (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
3. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #430 Guayasamin (ECU)/ Torlaschi (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #428 E.Goczal (POL)/ Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM

Stage 3: The Way of Water

Dakar has always been an attrition game, but this time the organizers decided to beat all the records in terms of challenging the participants, and the weather contributed to that. After the very rocky first two stages, the third was probably inspired by the Avatar sequel. The stage, which was supposed to last 447 kilometers, was cut after 377, as medical helicopters couldn’t fly due to worsened weather conditions (read: rain and more rain). The slower competitors were stopped even earlier, after kilometer 240. The racers had to download the alternative roadbook and head straight to the bivouac along the new, safer route. 

There was however enough adventure on the distance they managed to cover! What started peacefully in the most beautiful 50 kilometers of the race among the sequence of canyons, that later turned into the Highway to Hell Hail! The torrential weather made the terrain more suitable for a boat than for an SSV. Austin Jones used the opportunity to jump on top, winning this first special in the new category, but that wasn’t easy: “…One of the hardest days I had in a long time. There was rain, a hell of a storm, the conditions were absolutely insane. But we came out with a win today, so everything is good. When the rain started some people were basically getting brushed away in the river. It looked insane, really sorry to see all that. We crossed all those water crossings with a lot of speed. We could see what was coming and went as fast as we could not get stuck.” 

Jones’ co-driver recalls that this stage reminded him of Dakar in Bolivia – when it was cold and wet inside the UTV, and he had hypothermia and was lucky that the next day was canceled. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to start. Some days it’s hot, other days it’s freezing and wet – Saudi Arabia is trying to offer all kinds of weather conditions to compensate for the lack of border crossings. Even the top-5 drivers got stuck and needed help from the truck category that was following the UTVs. The most epic shots of the day are the Dutch Gerard de Rooy team crew pulling UTVs of Christina Gutierrez and ‘Chaleco’ Lopez out of the river, covered with water up to the cabin. Drivers had to swim – literally, to attach the tow ropes. And lost more than an hour to get out.

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
3. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
4. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #308 Alvarez (ESP)/ Panseri (FRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

T4 contenders were also very happy to arrive at the bivouac. As they were getting out of their cars, covered with mud over head and ears, they recalled crossing a lot of rivers, created by the rain. The less prepared were so cold that they had to stop at the gas stations to get dressed according to the Dakar fashion – emergency blankets under the suits, the garbage bags on top to get some wind protection. Once again, Marek Goczal posted the best time on stage – to receive a 2-minute penalty and cede leadership to the Brazilian Cristiano Batista. They are used to a lot of rain in Brazil! It’s Batista’s first Dakar participation, but this year he’s already become the Baja World Champion, so this is not the last time we hear this name during the race. Marek was displaced to the P2, followed by Rokas Baciuska, but retained the overall lead.

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #437 Batista (BRA)/ Mota (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
2. #401 M.Goczal (POL)/ Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
3. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
4. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #410 Seaidan (SAU)/ Kuzmich (UAE), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 4: Red Bull Team on Top of Things

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #337 Ferreira (PRT)/ Palmeiro (PRT), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
3. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
4. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #305 Navarro (ESP)/ Metge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM

Stage 5: Major blow for Mitch Guthrie

This day was offering 374 kilometers of sand in all variations – big dunes, small dunes, tricky camel grass, and all kinds of sandy tracks. You have all chances to win, if you avoid mistakes on the tricky terrain, or suffer a major blow, as Mitch Guthrie did. Yesterday’s winner was halted for the whole 3 hours by a mechanical failure, which left him without almost any chance to see the podium at the end of the race. “We had an issue with the steering, we had to wait for the truck, change the steering rack and continue on. Pretty unfortunately ended up losing a lot of time and we are out of any chance for the overall, but we could go for stage wins, keep having some fun and learning.”

Stay optimistic, Mitch, Dakar is only one of the 5 stages in the World Championship! It was a much better day for his teammate and compatriot Quintero. Yesterday the young Californian lost a tire and 1,5 hours to fix it, but today posted the fastest time on stage. So far so good, Seth! On Stage, Quintero is followed by Chaleco Lopez and Austin Jones, but it’s still OT3 of ex-Red Bull racer De Mevius in first place overall. In previous years, when Quintero was in OT3 as well, they proved to be fast, but prone to mechanical failures. Let’s see if switching to Can-Am will change the game for the Red Bull Team, and if the Belgian will be able to take his OT3 through to the end.

Except for the battles for the podium, everyone has their own battle! With entering top-10, it’s the best day so far for the Saudi female driver Mashael Al-Obaidan, for whom it’s the second Dakar participation and the first participation in the T3 category.

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
5. #302 Gutierrez (ESP)/ Moreno (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM

The sandy, bumpy and cold day 5 took the fastest participants 5 hours and became the first so far without the Goczal surname in the top five. It was difficult for the modified production SSVs, especially in the deep ruts left by the trucks, where they would bottom out everywhere. This day, it was the first victory of last year’s champion, young Lithuanian Red Bull Racer Rokas Baciuska: “Tech is holding up so far, my back hurts a little, but the team is ready to revive me, as a very long stage awaits us in the morning.” The runner-up Cristiano Batista actually posted better time, but a time penalty of just 50 seconds has put him in second place instead of first. Saudi Yasir Seaidan demonstrates sustainable results this year, coming third today.

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
2. #437 Batista (BRA)/ Mota (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
3. #410 Seaidan (SAU)/ Kuzmich (UAE), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #402 Farres Guell (ESP)/ Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 6: Family Business

Affected by the weather conditions, days 6 and 7 had to be modified on the go – the planned bivouac area would be suited for a huge swimming pool, but not for the Dakar camp. Therefore, the stage was reduced by 100 kilometers to “just” 357 kilometers, and the crews would then take a link route of approximately 300 kilometres to the bivouac in Riyadh. The total distance to be covered during the day would be 917.74 kilometers – too much even for the road trip, not speaking of an off-road part. The dune crossing technique and not mixing up haste and speed would be once again a decisive factor for success. No major changes happened in the top-3 today, with the stage podium replicating the general ranking. De Mevius on top, then, within several minutes, A.J. Jones, followed by Seth Quintero with about an hour gap. Unless some unexpected mechanical issue happens, they are the main contenders for the T3 throne this year, with Chaleco Lopez and Christina Gutierrez still having their chances as well.

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
2. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
3. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #322 Casale (CHL)/ Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
5. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG

Out of T4 crews, it was the Goczal family who had the most fun on stage. Marek and Michal took the first two places. Eryk was 7th, he bent his rear arm, but has no regrets as the whole family had their best time racing today: “We had family time on the stage. I got to overtake my father, he was fighting back, increasing pace. We bent our rear arm, but for the amount of fun all three of us had on the stage, that was ok.” Marek comes in shining and adds to the conversation: “We have two Dakars, one official and one within the family. Today we focused more on the family Dakar. Today when we drove all 3 together on stage, even teardrops came into the eyes. It was the most beautiful time of the Dakar I’ve ever had.”

It’s still Brazilian de Oliveira who holds the lead in the general ranking. If you read the ranking more thoroughly you’ll see another de Oliveira some lines below – that’s Rodrigo’s 18-year-old son Bruno. There are even more family stories these years throughout all the categories. Father Michelle and two brothers Pietro and Carlo make up a solid part of the Xtremeplus Polaris Team. The daughter of the famous Czech truck driver Martin Koloc is continuing his legacy but in the T3 category. Anja van Loon wants to drive the T5 category in her father’s memory, and is rehearsing in T3, while her husband Eric is racing in T1. And you can see the same duo Navarro-Metge in both T3 and T4 – that’s father and son, accompanied by brother co-pilots. Dakar truly becomes a family business!

T4 Top Five Stage Results

1. #401 M.Goczal (POL)/ Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
2. #405 M.Goczal (POL)/ Gospodarczyk (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
3. #402 Farres Guell (ESP)/ Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
5. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Stage 7: Unexpected Marathon

T3 Top Five Stage Results

1. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
2. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #337 Ferreira (PRT)/ Palmeiro (PRT), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
4. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #322 Casale (CHL)/ Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM

There were no complaints about the unexpected marathon night in tents – the food was good, it wasn’t cold, the sleep was good, what else a true racer needs! And we already see the first participants limping to the bivouac from today’s 346-kilometer battlefield, before the long-awaited rest day. Today they were shaking on the stones in the first part of the stage and climbing dunes later, while the co-pilots tried to stay on top of the nav in the fast and tricky final part. They’ve covered over 800 kilometers today, over 5000 total during these long 8 days, and have deserved a night in a comfortable bed in the hotel in Riyadh.

The harder it is to compete with the Red Bull Can-Am army, the sweeter the victory when it comes! After having received 26 hours of penalties on stage 3, and having no more chances for the overall win, the Portuguese “Rookie” João Perriera had nothing to lose and went all-in, bringing the first stage victory to the Yamaha team. “This first part has been really tough for us, we had problems and arrived at the bivouac several times by night. But we had P1, P2, and P3 on stages, so the week was really good,” optimistically comments Ferreira. The highest-ranked Yamaha so far is the one driven by the former Dakar quad champ Ignacio Casale, who’s in 10th position with almost 7 hours separating him from the leader. The Belgian-French crew De Mevius/Cazalet retains the overall lead, but A.J. Jones is snapping at his heels, reducing the time difference from 8 to just 3 minutes. Seth Quintero is behind Jones within 1 hour, and there’s still 6 days to go, so get your popcorn! 

T3 top ten overall results 

1. #304 De Mevius (BEL) /Cazalet (FRA), GRALLYTEAM
2. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
3. #301 Quintero (USA)/ Zenz (DEU), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
5. #302 Gutierrez (ESP)/ Moreno (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
6. #309 Alsaif (SAU)/ Vitoria (PRT), BLACK HORSE TEAM
7. #339 Basson (ZAF)/ Pienaar (ZAF), GRALLYTEAM
8. #305 Navarro (ESP)/ Metge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM
9. #340 Weijs (NLD)/ Meijer (NLD), ARCANE RACING
10. #322 Casale (CHL)/ Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM

T3  Top Five Stage Results

1. #337 Ferreira (PRT)/ Palmeiro (PRT), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM
2. #300 Lopez Contardo (CHL)/ Latrach Vinagre (CHL), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
3. #314 Guthrie (USA)/ Watch (USA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
4. #303 Jones (USA)/ Gugelmin (BRA), RED BULL OFF-ROAD JR TEAM USA BY BFG
5. #322 Casale (CHL)/ Leon (CHL), X-RAID YAMAHA SUPPORTED TEAM

The geography of the stage podium in T4 finally changed, with Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Spain replacing the Baltic countries. Former Dakar quad racer Jeremías González Ferioli scored his first stage win in the new category, also jumping up to the 5th place in the general ranking. Second-placed Yasir Seaidan has no chance to win, but the third-placed Spaniard Farres, for whom this Dakar is already 16th, and 5th in the SSV category, is placed 4th in the general ranking. Ferioli and Farres will have to put the pedal to the metal though, to catch up with the ranking leaders – Baciuska and Goczal father-and-son duo. The Uncle Goczal, Michal, suffered gearbox problems and had to crawl towards the bivouac in the night, losing chances for the family podium.

T4  Top Five Stage Results

1. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
2. #410 Seaidan (SAU)/ Kuzmich (UAE), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
3. #402 Farres Guell (ESP)/ Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
4. #407 Navarro (ESP)/ Metge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM
5. #430 Guayasamin (ECU)/ Torlaschi (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

T4 top ten overall results

1. #400 Baciuska (LTU)/ Montijano (ESP), RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM
2. #401 M.Goczal (POL)/ Marton (POL), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
3. #428 E.Goczal (POL)/ Mena (ESP), ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM
4. #402 Farres Guell (ESP)/ Ortega Gil (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
5. #412 Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG)/ Gonzalo Rinaldi (ARG), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
6. #406 Luppi de Oliveira (BRA)/ Justo (BRA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
7. #437 Batista (BRA)/ Mota (ESP), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
8. #409 Conti de Oliveira (BRA)/ Prata (PRT), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM
9. #407 Navarro (ESP)/ Metge (FRA), FN SPEED TEAM
10. #414 Taylor (AUS)/ Short (USA), SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

Out of 47 T3s and 45 T4s, 39 and 40 are still in the battle and will continue moving toward the finish in Dammam. The Polaris crews are still in the game, even though without #435 Michele Cinotto, who dropped out after Stage 7. Before reaching the Persian Gulf, the teams still have to get through the ocean of sand in the mysterious and deserted Empty Quarter, where Dakar will enter for the first time. As racers are enjoying the rest day, we are rubbing our hands to see what else this extraordinarily challenging and epic race edition brings on.