Dakar 2023

[Eli]

https://www.autosport.com/dakar/news/embargoed-1630-gmt-dakar-rally-announces-longer-14-stage-route-for-2023/10316914/

For the first time since 2018, the Dakar will feature 14 stages.

[NaBUru38]

T1 entries include:

* Toyota Gazoo: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Giniel De Villiers, Henk Lategan.
* Toyota Overdrive: Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Erik Van Loon, Lucas Moraes.
* Toyota Rebellion: Romain Dumas, Alexandre Pesci.
* Audi: Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Mattias Ekström.
* Mini: Khalid Al Qassimi, Jakub Przygo?ski, Denis Krotov, Sebastian Halpern.
* BRX by Prodrive: Sébastien Loeb, Guerlain Chicherit, Orlando Terranova, Vaidotas Žala.
* Ford: Martin Prokop.
* Astara: Carlos Checa, Laia Sanz, Óscar Fuertes.
* BAIC: Guoyu Zhang, Zi Yunliang.
* Century: Brian Baragwanath, Mathieu Serradori, Tim Coronel, Sergio Vallejo

[NaBUru38]

T3 (Light Prototypes) entries include:

* Can-Am: Francisco "Chaleco" López Contardo, Seth Quintero, Austin Jones, Cristina Gutiérrez, Santiago Navarro, Fernando Álvarez, Saleh Alsaif, Dania Akeel.
* Yamaha: Ignacio Casale, Annett Fischer, Camelia Liparoti, Ahmed Alkuwari Fahad.
* PH-Sport: Antoine Méo, Jean-Luc Ceccaldi-Pisson.
* OT3: Guillaume De Mévius, Ebenhaezer Basson.

T4 (SSV) entries include:

* Can-Am: Rokas Baciuška, Gerard Farrés, Marek Goczal, Michal Goczal, Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira, Pau Navarro, Molly Taylor, Nicolás Cavigliasso, Jeremias González, Juan Manuel Silva.
* Polaris: Xavier de Soultrait, Florent Vayssade, Pietro Cinotto

Red Bull and Overdrive have split, instead the energy drink will sponsor the Can-Am factory team.

[NaBUru38]

Kamaz is missing from the T5 trucks entries. Instead we will have:

* Iveco: Martin Van Den Brink, Mitchel van den Brink, Kees Koolen, Martin Macikk, Janus van Kasteren, Victor Versteijnen, Richard de Groot.
* Tatra: Martin Soltys, Jaroslav Valtr, Tomáš Vrátný, Vaidotas Paškevi?ius.
* Renault: Pascal de Baar, Gert Huzink.
* Praga: Aleš Loprais
* MAN: Mathias Behringer, Gerrit Zuurmond, Jordi Juvanteny.
* Ford: Albert Llovera.
* Hino: Teruhito Sugawara.
* Scania: Rafael Tibau Maynou, Alberto Herrero, Miklós Kovács.

[NaBUru38]

Motorcycles include:

* Gas Gas: Sam Sunderland, Daniel Sanders.
* Honda: Ricky Brabec, Joan Barreda, Adrien Van Beveren, Pablo Quintanilla, José Ignacio Cornejo.
* KTM: Toby Price, Mason Klein, Kevin Benavides, Matthias Walkner, Stefan Svitko.
* Husqvarna: Skyler Howes, Luciano Benavides.
* Sherco: Lorenzo Santolino, Rui Gonçalves.
* Yamaha: Antonio Maio

[focus206]

I've read a Loeb interview on Dirtfish. Seems like this year there will be no neutralization in the middle of the stage, so that drivers must drive the whole stage without knowing any splits nor the pace of the opponents.
Loeb also says that the Prodrive Hunter and the Hilux should be quite on par, but who knows about the electric Audi.
I also saw that X-Raid is bringing a new evolution of the Mini, but only for Przygonski and Halpern AFAIK.

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/loeb-lays-out-confidence-for-his-2023-dakar/

[dimviii]

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sainz's words in the preview of the Dakar 2023: "Carlos always tries to complain about many things, but I think Audi, Toyota and BRX will be the same"
This seems like a classic every year, but Carlos Sainz came out to say that he thought the Audis would have a disadvantage because the minimum weight of the T1 Ultimate prototypes (hybrid/electric) was raised to 2,100 kilos and that of the T1+ kept at 2,000 kilos. Sainz pointed out that this means that when they finish the stage, by adjusting the fuel weight, they will arrive with a much heavier car than the Toyotas and Prodrive Hunters. And in the same classic every year, he received the public response from Nasser Al-Attiyah saying that he talks a lot.

Say hello to Carlos for me. Carlos always tries to complain about many things, but I think that Audi, Toyota and BRX will be similar, perhaps with a bit of electrical or power differences," the Qatari told a group of journalists as reported by Motorsport in an interview during the day of Shakedown and administrative checks at Yanbu Sea Camp.

The Qatari pointed out that his own car also has disadvantages compared to the Audis, especially since the T1 + received a reduction in power for this season: “Toyota has the issue of gears, and with each change you lose a second. But it's similar, and that's why it's good to have the new electric generation. Audi's performance is very high and we have lost 40 HP”, indicated the four-time Dakar champion. “The power is not like in the last Dakar, but it is for everyone. It seems that we all have the same thing, but we'll see, I think it will be the skills of the driver and the co-driver that will matter."

As if that were not enough, the Qatari from Toyota Gazoo Racing concluded his opinion by saying that he expects Prodrive and not Audi to be his main rivals in this 2023 Dakar: “For me, the biggest rival will be Loeb, not Audi, because Seb finished second in 2022 , won in Morocco and Andalusia”. Loeb didn't win in Morocco, it was Guerlain Chicherit, but he did it in a Prodrive Hunter.

https://crosscountryrally.tumblr.com/post/705012346163200000/nasser-al-attiyah-y-los-dichos-de-sainz-en-la

[focus206]

Ekstrom wins the short prologue on the Audi. Loeb 1 second behind.
Tomorrow first stage with 367 Km special + 234 Km liaison.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FlUt6RxXoAA7U0Q?format=jpg&name=small

[focus206]

Sainz wins stage 1 in front of Loeb and Ekstrom. Overall classification still very short:
1 Sainz (Audi)
2 Loeb (Prodrive) +10''
3 Ekstrom (Audi) +33''

Al Attiyah is 8th and Peterhansel 9th.

And happy new year to all forum members!

[focus206]

Seems like 15 minutes time penalty for Ekstrom, I don't know why. New top 3:
1 Sainz (Audi)
2 Loeb (Prodrive) +10''
3 Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive) +2' 01''

[dimviii]

Seems like 15 minutes time penalty for Ekstrom, I don't know why. ''

As this video clip proves, the co-driver used the paper road-book to get his bearings during the special. A prohibited practice since the road-book has been displayed on a digital tablet since 2022. The organization has the road-book in paper format in each cabin in case an emergency arises, but by opening the envelope sealed by ASO on morning of the stage, the crew gets a time penalty.

Also, Ekström-Bergkvist missed a waypoint. The penalty is 15 minutes. The first leaders of the Dakar 2023 fall to 14th place in the general classification, 15'33 "behind leaders Carlos Sainz-Lucas Cruz (Audi).

https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/autres-courses/rallye-raid/dakar/dakar-2023-mattias-ekstrom-sanctionne-a-lissue-de-letape-1.html

[EstWRC]

Loeb loosing over an hour already

Damn. Just can’t catch a break with Dakar

[focus206]

Loeb loosing over an hour already

Damn. Just can’t catch a break with Dakar

1h 26' lost by Loeb, Dakar over.
1h 06' lost by Loeb's teammate Terranova.
As long as Seb will drive that Prodrive thing, he won't win it. Let's see if the Audis are reliable enough to challenge Nasser and Toyota.

[Ha3aP]

As long as Seb will drive that Prodrive thing, he won't win it. Let's see if the Audis are reliable enough to challenge Nasser and Toyota.
It is not true. Elena is guilty of everything ))

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1610604150710226946

[dimviii]

finally a stage without punctures/mechanical problems,and stage win
https://www.dakar.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com/en/car/


edit he was without power steering at last part of stage.
too many problems these BRX from prodrive.

[focus206]

finally a stage without punctures/mechanical problems,and stage win
https://www.dakar.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com/en/car/


edit he was without power steering at last part of stage.
too many problems these BRX from prodrive.

I'd like to see Loeb on a Hilux, going for Dakar with that Prodrive means starting already with a big handicap in reliability.
The Hunter struggles to finish regular rally-raids like Rally Andalusia or Maroc without big issues, let alone the much longer Dakar.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1610629123986145280

[focus206]

Top 3 so far:
1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive) +18' 18''
3 Peterhansel (Audi) +18' 52''

All cars in top 10 are either Toyota Hilux or the electric Audi, except for Prokop in his Ford in 9th.
Best placed Prodrive Hunter is Loeb in 14th, all other Hunters (Terranova, Chicherit and Zala) hours away.

[sti123]

Vanagas-Sikk crash: https://twitter.com/i/status/1478657817640898564

[NaBUru38]

Classification after stage 4:

Bikes

1. AUS Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas), 18:40'
2. USA Skyler Howes (Husqvarna), + 3'
3. ARG Kevin Benavides (KTM), + 4'
4. ESP Joan Barreda (Honda), + 4'
5. AUS Toby Price (KTM), + 7'
6. USA Mason Klein (KTM), + 10'
7. CHI Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), + 11'
8. FRA Andrien Van Beveren (Honda), + 18'
9. ARG Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), + 21'
10. AUT Mattias Walkner (KTM), + 28'

T1 Cars

1. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), 16:34'
2. SAU Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota), + 18'
3. FRA Stéphane Peterhansel (Audi), + 18'
4. ESP Carlos Sainz (Audi), + 32'
5. RSA Henk Lategan (Toyota), + 45'
6. BRA Lucas Moraes (Toyota), + 45'
7. RSA Giniel de Vulliers (Toyota), + 48'
8. SWE Mattias Ekström (Audi), + 50'
9. CZE Martin Prokop (Ford), + 1:14'
10. NED Erik Van Loon (Toyota), + 1:15'

T3 Light Prototypes

1. USA Mitch Guthrie (Can-Am), 18:59'
2. BEL Guillaume de Mévius (OT3), + 1'
3. USA Austin Jones (Can-Am), + 11'
4. USA Seth Quintero (Can-Am), + 1:21'
5. ESP Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am), + 2:29'
6. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 2:51'

T4 SSV

1. BRA Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (Can-Am), 20:05'
2. POL Eryk Gocza? (Can-Am), + 14'
3. LTU Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am), + 24'
4. POL Marek Goczal (Can-Am), + 28'
5. ESP Gerard Farrés (Can-Am), + 30'
6. POL Michal Goczal (Can-Am), + 36'

T5 Trucks

1. CZE Ales Loprais (Praga), 19:29'
2. NED Martin Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 27'
3. CZE Jaroslav Valtr (Tatra), + 28'
4. CZE Martn Macik (Iveco), + 39'
5. NED Janus Van Kasteren (Iveco), + 58'
6. NED Mitchel Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 2:06'

[Fast Eddie WRC]

1h 26' lost by Loeb, Dakar over.

As long as Seb will drive that Prodrive thing, he won't win it. Let's see if the Audis are reliable enough to challenge Nasser and Toyota.

3 punctures (and only 2 spares) on SS2 was the problem for Loeb, not the car.

(And I wish he'd leave early now and do Monte-Carlo.)

[focus206]

3 punctures (and only 2 spares) on SS2 was the problem for Loeb, not the car.

(And I wish he'd leave early now and do Monte-Carlo.)

Loeb said in the interview after the stage that he went very slowly and didn't feel like he did any mistake nor that he could have done more. His teammate Terranova also got 3+ punctures in that stage.
Meanwhile the Hilux guys, even drivers slower and less experienced than Loeb or Terranova, went through it relatively fine.
I'm pretty sure they almost all run on BF-Goodrich tyres. Just coincidence or could there be something more, setup choices?

[dimviii]

AUDI TO RECEIVE MORE POWER FOR THE REST OF THE DAKAR
ASO HAS MODIFIED THE TECHNICAL REGULATIONS, UPPING THE MAXIMUM POWER FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES BY 8KW

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/audi-to-receive-more-power-for-the-rest-of-the-dakar/

[dimviii]

Indeed, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel did not mince words in the face of the French media present in the Saudi bivouac. The Qatari driver, leader of the event, thanked the officials for "killing the race very early" on his Instagram account.

his tricolor browser was more verbose, but his analysis is identical. Mathieu Baumel expresses his incomprehension because according to him, the acceleration data of the T1U (Audi) and T1+ (Prodrive, Toyota) taken into account by the FIA and ASO are not representative of their real performance in competition on this Dakar 2023.

“The data is something, of course, but in reality, we drove several times with them and at no time could we say that we were going at the same speed as the Audis, declares the reigning world champion. From there to say that they are still in deficit while they are the ones who drop us off… I do not quite see the principle. To add 10 horsepower to them is a lot, especially for a car which, in reality, is already faster than us. »

It's a fact, hybrid Audis have an advantage during acceleration phases, especially on sandy surfaces and in the dunes. Their electric motors give the drivers (Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Mattias Ekström) an immediate response to the accelerator pedal, unlike the Toyota Hilux and Prodrive Hunter, equipped with twin-turbo petrol V6s, without an electrical system.

Mathieu Baumel continues. “Clearly this decision is to give the advantage to Audi and allow them to come back. We are in the lead but they will come back to us. It does not go in the direction of fairness as it is marked on paper in any case.

We expected quite the opposite! They may have made a mistake in the writing, right? There really is a serious problem. We rode with them again today (Wednesday). It's incomprehensible. I think they gave the win to Audi. »

https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/autres-courses/rallye-raid/dakar/dakar-2023-mathieu-baumel-en-colere-je-pense-quils-ont-donne-la-victoire-a-audi.html

[EstWRC]

Really good stage by Estonians today!

[Ha3aP]

Indeed, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel did not mince words in the face of the French media present in the Saudi bivouac. The Qatari driver, leader of the event, thanked the officials for "killing the race very early" on his Instagram account.

his tricolor browser was more verbose, but his analysis is identical. Mathieu Baumel expresses his incomprehension because according to him, the acceleration data of the T1U (Audi) and T1+ (Prodrive, Toyota) taken into account by the FIA and ASO are not representative of their real performance in competition on this Dakar 2023.

“The data is something, of course, but in reality, we drove several times with them and at no time could we say that we were going at the same speed as the Audis, declares the reigning world champion. From there to say that they are still in deficit while they are the ones who drop us off… I do not quite see the principle. To add 10 horsepower to them is a lot, especially for a car which, in reality, is already faster than us. »

It's a fact, hybrid Audis have an advantage during acceleration phases, especially on sandy surfaces and in the dunes. Their electric motors give the drivers (Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Mattias Ekström) an immediate response to the accelerator pedal, unlike the Toyota Hilux and Prodrive Hunter, equipped with twin-turbo petrol V6s, without an electrical system.

Mathieu Baumel continues. “Clearly this decision is to give the advantage to Audi and allow them to come back. We are in the lead but they will come back to us. It does not go in the direction of fairness as it is marked on paper in any case.

We expected quite the opposite! They may have made a mistake in the writing, right? There really is a serious problem. We rode with them again today (Wednesday). It's incomprehensible. I think they gave the win to Audi. »

https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/autres-courses/rallye-raid/dakar/dakar-2023-mathieu-baumel-en-colere-je-pense-quils-ont-donne-la-victoire-a-audi.html

Mini has bad speed, give them 50 hp

[dimviii]

We already mentioned that of the French co-driver yesterday in our article and that of Nasser, through Instagram, has not been very different, also accompanied by the decision of the commissioners and next to the text that pointed out: "What a surprise to give to our main rival 11 more CV!!! Thanks for killing the race early." Remember that it was expected that the competitors could not comment on any variation in the 'Balance of Technology', so it is not surprising that the two crew members of the lead car have been so explicit in commenting on the decision.

The reactions were immediate and first it was Mattias Ekström who would publicly answer Baumel himself, pulling in this case the experience and seniority that they give to a driver who, in addition to winning the DTM and World RX, also runs his own competition structure: “I didn't expect you to write things like this. Maybe we should all follow the agreements and measurement methods that the teams made with the FIA before the race and trust that before making such statements. Let's run and let the FIA do its job. May the best team win in the end."

Al-Attiyah's publication has also received reactions from many motoring personalities, some like Kris Meeke, Nicolas Gilsoul or Mason Klein seem to favor the opinion of the Qatari, but the one made by the personal account of Sven Quandt (and which seems to have been deleted around 5:30 a.m. in Spain), responsible for X-Raid and Q Motorsport, a structure that manages the participation precisely of the Audi project in the Dakar Rally. Once again, the pact between the teams not to make statements regarding the decisions of the FIA stands out, in addition to pointing out that far from "having killed the race", Nasser continues to start as a great favorite in the stages that will take place in the Empty Quarter in the second week of the Dakar.

Dear all, you can argue about this a lot, but all the major teams, including Toyota, have agreed to accept whatever the FIA decides. If I had been in favor of someone else, Audi would have accepted this too. Before one writes a comment like this Nasser, he talks to your team managers at Toyota, since we all agree to accept it without controversy. By the way, you're leading by 18 minutes and you told everyone at the press conference that you know the Empty Quarter as home. Now you complain! Do you think of a true athlete? – Sven Quandt (@svenx) on Instagram

https://www.diariomotor.com/competicion/noticia/rally-dakar-2023-camiones-quads-utv-etapa4/

[dimviii]

“I think we were doing a good stage, but I made a mistake on a tricky dune. We landed and hit a big bit of camel grass and ended up with the car on its side. So, we lost some time for this, but for the rest it was a good stage. There was no problem with the car, so that was quite good”.

https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpeg/tmp1672920865798sp890w/135184/0:0,1078:719-2156-0-70/9b331

[focus206]

From what Loeb wrote on his Fb post, seems he's going on big attack mode and he'll keep doing that. Probably to collect points for the Rally Raid Championship, which are given after every stage?
Nothing to lose in the overall classification, after all.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

It's a pity driving in this lottery event prevents Loeb being able to do an event he is actually able to win (Monte).

[J4MIE]

Every time I give into temptation and go to try and find results on the Dakar website it is so difficult to use and I just give up. The extended highlights on YouTube are good but can some please please sack the ridiculous commentator.

Gutted for Loeb as I’d like to see him win it once.

No idea how points system works, the whole event and championship seems quite complicated to me.

[dimviii]

Every time I give into temptation and go to try and find results on the Dakar website it is so difficult to use and I just give up.

same for me.Last year was excellent,you can do everything you want,compare drivers,to see who is faste from waypoint to waypoint etc.
Also they delay a lot with news,interviews after stage end,and video highlights.

[dimviii]

ACCIDENT AND EXIT FROM THE RALLY FOR STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL, CARLOS SAINZ AT A STANDSTILL | T1
12:11

Stéphane Peterhansel has had an accident after 212 km of the day’s special. His co-pilot Edouard Boulanger has been injured by the impact leaving him with pain in the back. He has been evacuated by the Dakar medical team to the hospital in Buraydah to undergo further examinations. Mister Dakar’s Audi team-mate Carlos Sainz also suffered an accident at the same place. The team is unharmed and is waiting to repair their vehicle before attempting to resume the race.


AL RAJHI AT A STANDSTILL! | T1
11:54

Previously third 1’48’’ behind Nasser Al Attiyaj, Yazeed Al Rajhi has ground to a halt after 216 km due to mechanical problems. The Saudi could suffer big losses in the general rankings.

[dimviii]

footage from Sainz Peterhansel accident
https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611326727795478530

[focus206]

same for me.Last year was excellent,you can do everything you want,compare drivers,to see who is faste from waypoint to waypoint etc.
Also they delay a lot with news,interviews after stage end,and video highlights.

As far as I understand, they put the "live" part in a different website than the official Dakar one. It still could be better.
https://www.dakar.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com/en/car/6/

[focus206]

Every time I give into temptation and go to try and find results on the Dakar website it is so difficult to use and I just give up. The extended highlights on YouTube are good but can some please please sack the ridiculous commentator.

Gutted for Loeb as I’d like to see him win it once.

No idea how points system works, the whole event and championship seems quite complicated to me.

I've always liked the challenge of Dakar so I'll follow it, but if I were new to it, I'd have a hard time getting interested.
More than sack the commentator, I'd say whoever writes that script full of dad jokes :D
I think that for Dakar they assign few points for each stage in the Rally Raid championship, since it's much longer than all the other events.

[focus206]

Disaster for Audi today, with Peterhansel and Sainz out of contention. Al Rajhi as well, which leave Nasser with a huge advantage over teammate Lategan.
Loeb overtook Dumas and Prokop, and because of the trouble in front is now 6th overall.

Nobody is within one hour from Nasser. Only 5 drivers are within 2 hours:
1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 6'
3 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 13'
4 De Villiers (Toyota) +1h 44'
5 Ekstrom (Audi) +1h 46'
6 Loeb (Prodrive) +1h 57'

[dimviii]

1-2-3-4 for Toyota


@SebastienLoeb
·
2 hours
P2 today after a good stage overall ���� A little mechanical problem and a few small navigation errors but we still go back to 6th place overall ↗️

[Humber]

Looked like the trucks carrying the bivouac gear were stuck halfway up the wheel rims.

[focus206]

Audi disaster completed with Ekstrom losing 3 hours because of technical issues, don't know anything more specific.
No big changes for the other drivers within 2 hours from Nasser:
1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 01'
3 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 11'
4 De Villiers (Toyota) +1h 36'
5 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) +1h 54'

Edit: from a video it seems like Ekstrom drove over a stone and it damaged wheel/suspension

[dimviii]

Sebastien Loeb
@SebastienLoeb
·
46m
Live my life at
@dakar
�� Night in a tent tonight for the marathon stage ⛺️

A thought for all the volunteers or competitors who experience this every evening after the very long days. Respect gentlemen ����

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fl4knt7WQAc2fmQ?format=jpg&name=medium

[focus206]

Loeb wins today's stage after penalty to Sainz. De Villiers finished almost 30 minutes behind, so Loeb is up to 4th before the rest day.

1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 03'
3 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 20'
4 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) +1h 52'
5 De Villiers (Toyota) +2h 04'

[NaBUru38]

Classification after stage 8:

Bikes

1. USA Skyler Howes (Husqvarna), 30:34'
2. ARG Kevin Benavides (KTM), + 0'13"
2. USA Mason Klein (KTM), + 0'13"
4. AUS Toby Price (KTM), + 1'58"
5. CHI Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), + 2'45"
6. FRA Andrien Van Beveren (Honda), + 2'49"
7. AUS Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas), + 7'
8. ESP Joan Barreda (Honda), + 7'
9. CHI Josè Ignacio Cornejo (Honda), + 19'
10. AUT Mattias Walkner (KTM), + 22'

T1 Cars

1. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), 31:2'
2. RSA Henk Lategan (Toyota), + 1:03'
3. BRA Lucas Moraes (Toyota), + 1:20'
4. FRA Sébastien Loeb (BRX), + 1:52'
5. RSA Giniel de Vulliers (Toyota), + 2:04'
6. FRA Romain Dumas (Rebellion), + 2:27'
7. CZE Martin Prokop (Ford), + 2:37'
8. RSA Brian Baragwanath (Century), + 2:42'
9. CHN Han Wei (SMG), + 3:15'
10. ARG Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota), + 3:40'

T3 Light Prototypes

1. BEL Guillaume de Mévius (OT3), 36:03'
2. USA Austin Jones (Can-Am), + 3'
3. USA Seth Quintero (Can-Am), + 1:02'
4. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 2:30'
5. ESP Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am), + 2:53'

T4 SSV

1. LTU Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am), + 37:33'
2. POL Marek Goczal (Can-Am), + 4'
3. POL Eryk Goczal (Can-Am), + 5'
4. ESP Gerard Farrés (Can-Am), + 6'
5. ARG Jeremias González Ferioli (Can-Am), + 42'
6. BRA Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (Can-Am), + 1:39'

T5 Trucks

1. CZE Ales Loprais (Praga), 36'30'
2. NED Martin Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 16'
3. NED Janus Van Kasteren (Iveco), + 38'
4. CZE Martin Macik (Iveco), + 38'
5. NED Mitchel Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 1:51'
6. CZE Jaroslav Valtr (Tatra), + 2:40'

[focus206]

Loeb wins another stage with a 1-2-3 for the Prodrive Hunters. Lategan with problems, loses 50 minutes and drops just behind Loeb.
Amazing Dakar for rookie Moraes, btw. 2nd place so far, no mistakes, no penalties, no troubles. Nasser can win this hands in pockets, the only chance for others is a catastrophic failure on Nasser's Toyota.

1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 21'
3 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) +1h 43'
4 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 46'
5 De Villiers (Toyota) +2h 04'

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Bahrain Raid Xtreme @BRaidXtreme

Today has seen our first @prodrive Hunter 1-2-3 finish on a Dakar stage in this our third @dakar meaning smiles all round here in the bivouac and back in the UK.

[vino_93]

I think that for Dakar they assign few points for each stage in the Rally Raid championship, since it's much longer than all the other events.

No that's for every round. The stage has to be longer than 100 km, and for each stage you have 5-4-3-2-1 points (for overall, T3, T4 & T5). You need to reach the finish to score your stage points.
The only difference is that Dakar is a "marathon event" (longer than 6 stages), so it brings more points overall : 50 - 40 - 30 - 26 - 23 - 20 - 17 - 15 - 13 - 11 - 9 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4
whereas shorter events are 30 - 25 - 20 - 17 - 15 - 13 - 11 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2
and of course, as there are more legs, there are more points to be taken :)

Last year, Nasser took 85 points on Dakar (169 full year) and Séb 84 points (149). So that was more than half of their season. But this year there's one more event (to be exact, one was cancelled LY). But better not to retire here, otherwise you can't expect to be World Champion.

[focus206]

Sainz rolled the Audi over a dune today, and was in pain afterwards. He was being taken to a hospital with a helicopter, but then he requested to be brought back to his car and he drove the damaged Audi to bivouac.
From next stage until the end it will be mostly dunes, shorter stages but organizers say they will be difficult, especially in finding the checkpoints.

[dimviii]

Sainz roll
https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1612740985423032320

[focus206]

Third stage win in a row for Loeb, but he gains only 5 minutes on both Nasser and Moraes. But considering the special stage was only 114 Km, Seb won it by a 3 minute gap on Ekstrom, it's impressive.

1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) + 1h 21'
3 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) +1h 37'
4 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 48'
5 De Villiers (Toyota) +2h 10'

[dimviii]

DAKAR RALLY
@dakar
Ales Loprais is not able to continue #Dakar2023 following yesterday's fatal accident involving an Italian spectator. Loprais, who was leader of the general truck classification at the time, was only informed of the tragic news on his arrival at the bivouac last night.

[focus206]

DAKAR RALLY
@dakar
Ales Loprais is not able to continue #Dakar2023 following yesterday's fatal accident involving an Italian spectator. Loprais, who was leader of the general truck classification at the time, was only informed of the tragic news on his arrival at the bivouac last night.

I saw the footage, what an absolutely stupid place to stay. I don't mean to badmouth a dead person, but to be in a place where you are impossible for a car to avoid in the middle of the desert, it takes a special talent.
Sorry for Loprais, not only for a possible lost first ever win, but mostly because of the traumatic experience.

[NaBUru38]

Classification after stage 10:

Bikes

1. ARG Kevin Benavides (KTM), + 35:46'
2. USA Skyler Howes (Husqvarna), 1'29"
3. AUS Toby Price (KTM), + 2'10"
4. FRA Andrien Van Beveren (Honda), + 9'
5. CHI Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), + 14'
6. USA Mason Klein (KTM), + 15'
7. CHI Josè Ignacio Cornejo (Honda), + 20'
8. ARG Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), + 21'
9. AUS Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas), + 23'
10. AUT Mattias Walkner (KTM), + 39'

T1 Cars

1. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), 36:13'
2. BRA Lucas Moraes (Toyota), + 1:21'
3. FRA Sébastien Loeb (BRX), + 1:35'
4. RSA Henk Lategan (Toyota), + 1:48'
5. RSA Giniel de Vulliers (Toyota), + 2:10'
6. FRA Romain Dumas (Rebellion), + 2:45'
7. CZE Martin Prokop (Ford), + 2:50'
8. RSA Brian Baragwanath (Century), + 2:56'
9. CHN Han Wei (SMG), + 3:43'
10. ARG Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota), + 4:00'

T3 Light Prototypes

1. BEL Guillaume de Mévius (OT3), 41:45'
2. USA Austin Jones (Can-Am), + 7'
3. USA Seth Quintero (Can-Am), + 1:03'
4. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 2:44'
5. ESP Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am), + 3:14'

T4 SSV

1. LTU Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am), + 43:17'
2. POL Eryk Goczal (Can-Am), + 3'
3. ESP Gerard Farrés (Can-Am), + 6'
4. POL Marek Goczal (Can-Am), + 11'
5. ARG Jeremias Gonzlez Ferioli (Can-Am), + 45'
6. BRA Cristiano Batoista (Can-Am), + 1:53'

T5 Trucks

1. NED Janus Van Kasteren (Iveco), 43:00'
2. NED Martin Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 22'
4. CZE Martin Macik (Iveco), + 57'
5. NED Mitchel Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 2:08'
6. CZE Jaroslav Valtr (Tatra), + 2:22'

[focus206]

Fourth win in a row for Loeb, but just like yesterday's stage, only 6 minutes gained on Al Attiyah and Moraes. So far, these "difficult to navigate" dunes stages have proven not difficult for most drivers...

1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 21'
3 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) +1h 30'
4 Lategan (Toyota) +1h 49'
5 De Villiers (Toyota) +2h 14'

[focus206]

5 in a row for Loeb. 3 minutes gained on Al Attiyah, 11 minutes on Moraes, therefore climbing to 2nd place. Lategan had troubles.

1 Al Attiyah (Toyota)
2 Loeb (Prodrive BRX) + 1h 27'
3 Moraes (Toyota Overdrive) +1h 29'
4 De Villiers (Toyota) +2h 22'
5 Lategan (Toyota) +2h 34'

[focus206]

With today's fifth stage win, Loeb equals the record of most consecutive stage wins at Dakar of Ari Vatanen from 1989.
Only 2 relatively short stages left, so Nasser got this in the pocket. Unless someone blows his Hilux up while he's sleeping :D

[dimviii]

6th in a row
https://www.dakar.com/en/news/2023/stage-12/car/dakar-2023-stage-12-loeb-is-a-serial-winner/183253

[focus206]

6 consecutive stages, 7 stage wins out of 14, and still 1 hour 20 minutes behind Nasser... clearly speed or navigations are not the problems for Seb in rally raid.

[J4MIE]

Well you could argue that Nasser would be faster when trying in a fight for the lead, as much as I’m a huge fan it has been pretty much an open goal for Loeb to shoot for. Just such a shame the car let him down early on.

[focus206]

Well you could argue that Nasser would be faster when trying in a fight for the lead, as much as I’m a huge fan it has been pretty much an open goal for Loeb to shoot for. Just such a shame the car let him down early on.

For sure Nasser is not pushing and if he was fighting for the lead he could have broke this streak. But Dakar has many many competitors, there are fast ones still driving (Lategan, De Villiers, Chicherit, Al Rajhi, Ekstrom etc.), so to finish in front of all of them 6 times straight, which means no serious driving or navigation mistakes while being very fast, is the most impressive thing.

[J4MIE]

Nasser has done it and won his 5th Dakar!
1h 18m the final margin.

[focus206]

Congrats to Nasser, second Dakar in a row in which he doesn't put a wheel wrong. Very deserving podium with Nasser, Loeb who did an amazing recovery after the technical troubles, and rookie Moraes who also didn't make a single big mistake. Shame we didn't get much of a fight for the victory nor the podium.

Top 10:
1 Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Hilux - Toyota Gazoo Racing)
2 Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive Hunter - Bahrain Raid Xtreme) +1h 20'
3 Lucas Moraes (Toyota Hilux - Toyota Overdrive Racing) +1h 38'
4 Giniel De Villiers (Toyota Hilux - Toyota Gazoo Racing) +2h 31'
5 Henk Lategan (Toyota Hilux - Toyota Gazoo Racing) +2h 36'
6 Martin Prokop (Ford Raptor - MP-Sports) +3h 40'
7 Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota Hilux - Toyota Overdrive Racing) +4h 27'
8 Wei Han (Buggy SMG Geely - Hanwei Motorsport Team) +4h 29'
9 Sebastian Halpern (Mini John Cooper Works Plus - X-Raid Mini) +4h 42'
10 Guerlain Chicherit (Prodrive Hunter - GCK Motorsport) +5h 22'

As far as I understand, Loeb is in the lead of the Rally Raid championship over Nasser because of the stage wins.

[J4MIE]

Man I’d really like to go over and watch through the dunes next year, not sure how easy it is to make a trip and get into the dunes cheaply though.

[NaBUru38]

2023 Dakar Rally - Final classification

Bikes

1. ARG Kevin Benavides (KTM), + 44:27'
2. AUS Toby Price (KTM), + 0'43"
3. USA Skyler Howes (Husqvarna), 5'
4. CHI Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), + 19'
5. FRA Andrien Van Beveren (Honda), + 20'
6. ARG Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), + 22'
7. AUS Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas), + 14'
8. CHI Josè Ignacio Cornejo (Honda), + 51'
9. ESP Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco), + 1:17'
10. ARG Franco Caimi (Hero), + 1:38'

T3 Light Prototypes

1. USA Austin Jones (Can-Am), + 51:55'
2. USA Seth Quintero (Can-Am), + 52'
3. BEL Guillaume de Mévius (OT3), + 1:35'
4. ESP Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am), + 2:56'
5. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 2:59'

T4 SSV

1. POL Eryk Goczal (Can-Am), + 52:10'
2. LTU Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am), + 16'
3. POL Marek Goczal (Can-Am), + 18'
4. ARG Jeremias Gonzlez Ferioli (Can-Am), + 1:07'
5. ESP Gerard Farrés (Can-Am), + 1:49'

T5 Trucks

1. NED Janus Van Kasteren (Iveco), 54:03'
2. CZE Martin Macik (Iveco), + 1:14'
3. NED Martin Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 2:40'
4. NED Mitchel Van Der Brink (Iveco), + 4:02'
4. CZE Jaroslav Valtr (Tatra), + 5:06'

Quads

1. FRA Alexandre Giroud (Yamaha), 56:44'
2. ARG Francisco Moreno (Yamaha), + 43'
3. USA Pablo Copetti (Yamaha), + 1:52'
4. SVK Juraj Varga (Yamaha), + 2:51'
5. CHI Giovanni Enrico (Yamaha), + 4:57'

Classics

1. ESP Juan Morera (Toyota), 428 pts
2. ESP Carlos Santaolalla (Toyota), 529 pts
3. ITA Paolo Bedeschi (Toyota), 631 pts
4. ITA Riccardo Garosci (Nissan), 813 pts
5. FRA Serge Mogno (Toyota), 889 pts

[J4MIE]

Any news on dates for Dakar 2024?

[dimviii]

Sebastien Loeb
@SebastienLoeb
·
5am
I'm always so thirsty for new challenges and I couldn't miss this one ��������

I am happy to join #Dacia after the 2024 Dakar and eager to start the adventure to achieve our common goal from 2025: to win the
@dakar

https://twitter.com/SebastienLoeb/status/1675844490647535616

[focus206]

Sebastien Loeb
@SebastienLoeb
·
5am
I'm always so thirsty for new challenges and I couldn't miss this one ��������

I am happy to join #Dacia after the 2024 Dakar and eager to start the adventure to achieve our common goal from 2025: to win the
@dakar

https://twitter.com/SebastienLoeb/status/1675844490647535616

I wonder why Loeb often picks underdogs... if I were him and wanted to win Dakar or Rally Raid championship or Rallycross championship, I'd contact Toyota, Audi etc. to be on par with my toughest competition. I'm sure they'd have room for Loeb. Instead he goes for Prodrive, Dacia, Chicherit's Delta.
Maybe he likes the thrill of overcoming the odds with an inferior machine more than having the fastest car?
Not saying that Dacia won't be good, but you need to be quite perfect to beat Nasser + Toyota...

[NaBUru38]

Loeb was runner-up the past two editions, so he knows which underdogs to pick.

[focus206]

Loeb was runner-up the past two editions, so he knows which underdogs to pick.

But arguably, it's because of underdog Prodrive's worse reliability that Loeb couldn't properly challenge Nasser with Toyota's great reliability... he was quite a distant 2nd place both times.

[NaBUru38]

Nani Roma has joined M-Sport Ford for the Baja Aragón.

[dimviii]

AL-ATTIYAH JOINS PRODRIVE AS TEAM-MATE TO LOEB

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/al-attiyah-joins-prodrive-as-team-mate-to-loeb/

[focus206]

AL-ATTIYAH JOINS PRODRIVE AS TEAM-MATE TO LOEB

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/al-attiyah-joins-prodrive-as-team-mate-to-loeb/

Very surprising. Dakar 2024 has spiced up!