Note originally published in Automundo.com.ar
STAGE 5 (5/01)
HAIL-HAIL | 646KM (SS 375)
It was disputed in a 100% sand terrain on this second loop around Hail, the off-road capital of Saudi Arabia. The day began with small dunes, in which the presence of camel grass had to be dealt with, to then face large open spaces dotted with dunes. In this section of slalom, the perfection of the dune overcoming technique was decisive in gaining minutes: when the sand is soft, only experts come out unscathed with time.
cars
Photo: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool.
the qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), reigning champion of the dakar rally in the car category, he achieved a second victory in the 2023 edition, this Thursday in Hail (north of Saudi Arabia), increasing his advantage as leader of the general classification, in a day in which the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Audi) was second.
The electric Audis, which since Thursday have 11 additional CV Thanks to the new regulations that seek to compensate the powers, they achieved second and third place in this 649-kilometre stage in the dunes.
Sainz was second at 1 minute and 57 seconds and the Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (Audi) third at 3 minutes and 44 seconds, according to provisional results.
In the general Al-Attiyah, four times winner of the test (2011, 2015, 2019 and 2022) is first with 22 minutes and 36 seconds over Peterhansel and 27 minutes and one second with the Saudi Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota).
“It has been a hard stage, where we have tried to push like crazy after the decision of the FIA to give more power to the Audi. We pushed so hard that we are very tired, but happy to have finished the day without problems”, Al-Attiyah noted about the extra motivation he had.
Sainz, with pain in his back and neck after a hard landing, described the stage as “very demanding for the body”.
“I think I hurt my neck in a compression, with a very hard impact, let’s see if the physio can fix me a bit because it has been a very physical day. The suspension was maybe a little too hard.” explained the veteran Spanish pilot.
Juan Cruz Yacopini. Photo: Shakedown team
The best located South American is the Brazilian Lucas Moraes (Toyota) who is sixth in the generation; while the best Argentinian is from Mendoza Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota) in 13th place.
Dakar 2023 Cars – General after E5
| POS | PILOT | TEAM | WEATHER | DIFF. |
| one | NASSER AL-ATTIYAH | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 20H 47′ 36” | |
| 2 | STEPHANE PETERHANSEL | TEAM AUDI SPORTS | 21H 10′ 12” | +00H 22′ 36” |
| 3 | YAZEED AL RAJHI | OVERDRIVE RACING | 21H 14′ 37” | +00H 27′ 01” |
| 4 | CARLOS SAINZ | TEAM AUDI SPORTS | 21H 22′ 28” | +00H 34′ 52” |
| 5 | HENK LATEGAN | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 21H 45′ 34” | +00H 57′ 58” |
motorcycles
Photo: Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool.
One day after his 32nd birthday, the French Adrien Van Beveren signed the best time in the motorcycle category of the fifth stage of the Dakar 2023this Thursday in Hail (northern Saudi Arabia), signing his first victory in this 45th edition of the famous rally.
the pilot of Sling he took advantage of the confusion of the leading men at the beginning of the special to trace his route and distance his Chilean teammate by 13 seconds ignacio cornejo and the californian Mason Klein (KTM) in 5 minutes and 13 seconds.
Kevin Benavides. Photo: @shakedownteam
The day in the dunes was not positive for the Australian daniel sanders (GasGas), who paid for his navigation errors by finishing in 21st place, 26 minutes and 56 seconds behind, which makes him fall from first place to eighth, 13 minutes and 8 seconds behind the new leader, the American Skyler Howes (Husqvarna).
The Argentinian kevin benavides (KTM) finished October and remains in third place, five points behind the leader in a race that has defined “as the toughest since the Dakar came to Saudi Arabia.”
The 45th edition of the rally began on December 31 and will have 15 days of racing, with 8,000 kilometers to cover before arriving on January 15 in Dammam, in the Persian Gulf.
Dakar 2023 Motorcycles – General after E5
| POS | PILOT | TEAM | WEATHER | DIFF. |
| one | SKYLER HOWES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 23H 16′ 37” | |
| 2 | toby price | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 23H 18′ 44” | +00H 02′ 07” |
| 3 | KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 23H 21′ 53” | +00H 05′ 16” |
| 4 | mason klein | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | 23H 22′ 49” | +00H 06′ 12” |
| 5 | ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 23H 25′ 31” | +00H 08′ 54” |
quadricycles
After a fight that went kilometer by kilometer, the Argentine Francisco Moreno gave the big blow of the day and took the fifth special of the rally Dakar 2023 which was held in Hail.
Moreno, with the Yamaha of Dragon’on Racingwas awarded the highest position in the classification with a total time of 5 hours and 49 minutes.
Second came Pablo Copettiwith a difference of 53 seconds with the cuyano that allowed him to complete the special with a 1-2 for the Argentines.
the brazilian Marcelo Medeiroswith great competition so far, finished third, one minute behind the Argentine leader, thus completing the 100% South American podium today.
Laisvydas Kancius appears just behind, in fourth place, five minutes away while the leader of the competition, Alexandre Giroudfinished 5th.
In 8th place, 47 minutes behind the leader, is Manuel Andujar who lost a lot of time today and left the podium in the general classification.
Dakar 2023 Quads – General after E5
| POS. | PILOT | TEAM | WEATHER | DIFF. |
| one | ALEXANDRE GIROUD | YAMAHA RACING – SMX – DRAG’ON | 28H 46′ 12” | |
| 2 | FRANCISCO MORENO FLORES | DRAGON | 29H 26’00” | +00H 39′ 48” |
| 3 | LAISVYDAS KANCIUS | STORY RACING SRO | 29H 58′ 51” | + 01H 12′ 39” |
| 4 | PABLO COPETTI | DEL AMO MOTORSPORTS BY MOTUL | 30H 03′ 33” | + 01H 17′ 21” |
| 5 | MANUEL ANDUJAR | 7240 TEAM | 30H 34′ 11” | + 01H 47′ 59” |
Now it’s up to you: Who is your favorite driver to prevail in this edition? I shared your point of view in the comments, always with respect and without attacking.
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