Price makes big move in Dakar battle

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: 11 January 2023

The battle for Dakar 2023 has narrowed overnight, with Toby Price cutting the overall gap to American Skyler Howes to three seconds after Stage 9.

Marring the day was the tragic death of a Dakar spectator said to be an Italian citizen who was behind a dune when a vehicle came over. No more details have yet been released, as the spectator passed away in the helicopter on the way to the hospital.

Whilst Husqvarna rider Luciano Benavides took out the stage he still remains 21 minutes off the lead, with Price faring extremely well in the dunes to finish a tick over a minute behind him to take second overall with only 4 Stages remaining.

On the Riyadh to Haradh stage American Mason Klein endured a difficult outing with two crashes and the loss of his navigation book to drop into sixth after finishing the stage in P22, 18 minutes off the overall leader.

Aussie Daniel Sanders, along with other contenders Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, also endured a difficult navigational stretch between the 85 and 123km marks, which leaves only three riders within 10 minutes of the lead, from the eight of the previous stage.

Kevin Benavides sits third overall, 5 minutes off Howes and Price after Stage 9 of Dakar ’23. Image/main image: Red Bull Content Pool

The other contender in Honda rider Spaniard Joan Barreda also dove out of Dakar ’23 after crashing just 16km into the special, needing an airlift to the hospital.

Price’s teammate Kevin Benavides is the only other rider with the 10 minute mark, sitting in third overall, just five minutes of Howes after consolidating with a P7, which is also a good starting position for tomorrow’s stage.

Riders will head into the country’s ‘Empty Quarter’ for the tenth Stage, which will feature a long liaison section with a shortened 114 km special timed section through the dunes, which could well determine the outright contenders.

The run home then heads North past the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, along the coastline of the Persian Gulf to the finish line in Dammam.

Overall Bikes after 9 Stages

	Rider			Time/gap
1	Skyler HOWES	USA	Husqvarna Factory Racing	33:55:57
2	Toby PRICE	AUS	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+0:00:03
3	Kevin BENAVIDES	ARG	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+0:05:09
4	Adrien VAN BEVEREN	FRA	Monster Energy Honda Team	+0:15:40
5	Pablo QUINTANILLA	CHI	Monster Energy Honda Team	+0:18:24
6	Mason KLEIN	USA	BAS World KTM Racing Team	+0:18:42
7	Luciano BENAVIDES	ARG	Husqvarna Factory Racing	+0:21:35
8	Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO	CHI	Monster Energy Honda Team	+0:22:47
9	Daniel SANDERS	AUS	Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing	+0:23:47
10	Lorenzo SANTOLINO	ESP	Sherco Factory	+0:40:38

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Price makes big move in Dakar battle

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