The competitors had to tackle a special that was shortened due to the heavy rain that soaked a part of the region of Al Artawiyah. The stage began at the point which should originally have hosted CP1, reducing the timed section by approximately one hundred kilometres. On a loop around Al Qaysumah, the riders started with a 214-km link section, before 255 km of special, followed by a 166-km return route to the starting bivouac for the second looped stage on the rally.
On the menu, there was sand which, thanks to the rain, was heavier and provided better carry. However, there were also chains of dunes through which the competitors had to wind as well as climb, over a distance of 30 km, classed as level 2 difficulty. From the top of these first large dunes, the elite competitors could already start to scrutinize the route of the long stage in store for tomorrow: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Daniel Sanders, through managing their race on the day’s special, look well prepared to affront it.
The story of David against Goliath is mythical and can sometimes bet repeated on the Dakar. Such thumbing of the nose was carried out today by Portugal’s Joaquim Rodrigues, who achieved a certain form of consecration by winning a special on his 6th Dakar. His feat did not perturb the leaders of the overall classification, though the gaps between them narrowed before the major battle expected tomorrow on the way to Riyadh.
For his 31st birthday, Adrien Van Beveren was within 4 seconds of deposing his rival Sam Sunderland from the top of the race hierarchy, on which Matthias Walkner (3rd) and Skyler Howes (4th) also closed in. In total, five brands were represented in the top 6, with the Sherco ridden by Lorenzo Santolino in 6th place.
Joaquim Rodrigues was not aware of the fact this morning at the start, but he set off with the costume of a superhero! Featuring on the virtual podium at each check point, he won the special to obtain his first victory on the Dakar. He also offered the same distinction to Hero Motorsport, the Indian brand for whom he made his debut in 2017. “J-Rod” has endured the worst of experiences, with the death of his team-mate Paulo Gonçalves on 12th January 2020, but today enjoyed one of the best, thanks in part to his former countryman and team-mate: “It’s my first stage victory on the Dakar and its historical for the team, I’m really, really happy. I was riding well and so fast that I even said to myself, ‘Paulo is riding with me here’. I think he and I won here today”.
The Portuguese rider’s performance is a reward for the unrelenting work of Wolfgang Fischer’s team, which has cast off the curse that seems to have affected the red and whites: “J-Rod was there with Santosh when we began the project, which has obviously experienced highs and lows. Returning last year with the construction of a new bike following Paulo’s death was not easy. We took part in as many races as possible and organised as much testing and training as we could in order to be ready for the Dakar, but we ran into bad luck in the weeks leading up to the race with injuries to Sebastian Buhler and Franco Caimí. In the end, we are here with Aaron Mare and only have two riders, but Joaquim has won for him and for Hero. It is a very emotional moment for us”.
Results Stage 3
1.RODRIGUES Joaquim-Hero Motorsports Team Rally 02:34'41
2.PRICE Toby-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +00:01'03
3.HOWES Skyler-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +00:01'26
4.SANDERS Daniel-Gas Gas Factory Team +00:02'55
5.SHORT Andrew-Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team +00:03'36
6.BRABEC Ricky-Monster Energy Honda Team +00:04'18
7.BENAVIDES Kevin-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +00:04'28
8.VAN BEVEREN Adrien-Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team +00:04'43
9.WALKNER Matthias-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +00:04'52
10.EVAN BRANCH Ross-Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team +00:04'59
11.CORNEJO José Ignacio-Monster Energy Honda Team +00:05'17
12.MICHEK Martin-Orion Moto Racing Group +00:05'27
13.BENAVIDES Luciano-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +00:06'21
14.DE SOULTRAIT Xavier-HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing +00:06'31
Rider Standings -After stage 3
1.SUNDERLAND Sam-Gas Gas Factory Team 11:13'40
2.VAN BEVEREN Adrien-Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team +00:00'04
3.WALKNER Matthias-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +00:01'30
4.HOWES Skyler-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +00:03'55
5.SANDERS Daniel-Gas Gas Factory Team +00:08'54
6.SANTOLINO Lorenzo-Sherco TVS Rally Factory +00:11'47
7.QUINTANILLA Pablo-Monster Energy Honda Team +00:16'51
8.BENAVIDES Kevin - Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +00:17'45
9.SVITKO Stefan-Slovnaft Rally Team +00:17'54
10.MARÉ Aaron-Hero Motorsports Team Rally+00:18'41
ASO