Daniel Sanders has accomplished the best time on the day’s special. The Australian, who did not have to open the way, has proved to be sufficiently quick enough to keep ahead of his rivals who accumulated bonuses, such as Skyler Howes and especially Mason Klein, both of whom trailed Sanders by more than 6’ at the finishing line.
Today, the Dakar navigated through lands steeped in history, setting off from one of the centres of Nabatean civilisation on the way to Ha’il, which was a crossroads of commercial routes linking Europe to Asia. For the Dakar riders, drivers and crews, who had to tackle sometimes torrential weather conditions through the majestic canyons surrounding the sandy and sometimes rocky tracks, the challenge also involved having the capacity to focus on navigation where many criss-crossing tracks made it easy to get confused. Daniel Sanders proved to be a master at this game, displaying perfect regularity to win a fourth stage on the Dakar.
It may be obvious, but fighting to win the title on the Dakar first and foremost requires thoughtfulness. It is not sure that Ricky Brabec forgot this major rule, but the American had an encounter with misfortune and joined the list of major favourites who have exited the race prematurely. The Honda rider fell after 274 km. With painful cervical vertebrae, he was transported to hospital, both conscious and able to move, in Ha’iI for further medical examinations. Following Sam Sunderland, within the space of three days, the rally has lost two of its former winners. Nevertheless, the pretenders for the crown continue to take their place, starting with Daniel Sanders, who posted the best intermediate times throughout the special before winning for the fourth time in his career on a stage of the Dakar, also taking the lead in the rally.
The Australian’s lead in the general rankings was limited by the efforts of young Mason Klein, who benefited from the new rules awarding bonusses to the openers, to limit the damage and allow them to have a chance at outright victory. After winning the first special of his career on the Dakar at the age of 21 years, Mason Klein never ceases to amaze his elders. By opening the way, he set off on a 2WD version of Pacman until the refuelling point, gobbling up all the bonuses available for the first time to reward the riders opening the way for their colleagues. Out in front alone, the kid was first through all the way points and collected all the 5’52’’ of bonuses on offer until refuelling after 240 km, after which there were no more points.
At this phase of the race, Mason had gained more bonus points than the time he had lost to Daniel Sanders. A positive points balance of 7’’ allowed him to limit the damage, which was the spirit of this reform. Skyler Howes, his friend and mentor, who was the third rider to set off this morning, accomplished a similar feat. At the finish of the stage after approximately 450 km, Klein was still opening the special and had managed to navigate faultlessly. Finishing only 6’59’’ behind the day’s winner, he declared: I like opening. I love it, I don’t know why. I prefer it. I feel I make less mistakes”. This contrasts with the opinions of his peers, for whom it resembles a punishment! This kid is quite unlike the other riders. This evening, he lost the lead in the general rankings to Sanders but remains 2nd on the Dakar, scarcely more than 4 minutes behind.
“It was really good to open, I enjoyed every second of it. It’s so nice making all your own decisions. I felt really in control. I don’t know if I’ve ever navigated any better. This is a really good day for me. I like opening. I love it, I don’t know why. I prefer it. I feel I make less mistakes. I’m doing the work and it’s nice. The bonuses are nice. It’s been really great so far. The terrain was amazing. Not so rocky as yesterday. It was just a really good ride, I guess. Really nice views and I actually got to have a good look around today. The weather was perfect for riding, I think. It wasn’t too cold, it was amazing, a perfect day", Klein said.
ASO