Sanders on the pace in tight stage

Australia’s Daniel Sanders was not far away from victory in a tight stage 10 of the 2024 Dakar Rally.

After a rocky journey that started and finished in Al Ula, Sanders ended up fourth in the rocky 371km special, but just 47 seconds away from the ultimate pace set by bikes leader Ricky Brabec.

Brabec only held on to the stage by a slim two seconds over Honda teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo after the pair rode for three hours and 51 minutes.

Also within a minute away were Adrian van Beveren and Sanders as the fight for the stage remained in the balance until the very end.

Despite the speed Sanders is sitting eighth and just over an hour away from Brabec who now enjoys a 10 second over Ross Branch.

Reflecting on the stage the Australian GasGas factory rider admitted it was tough going early on as he gritted through the pain having also battled and got bogged in the tough stage 9.

“I had a very bad start because the body was still in pain from yesterday,” Sanders said.

“I struggled a lot until the refill and then just tried to take it east and focus on the navigation

“I feel like I nailed a couple of notes some people missed which helped me climb back up.”

Australian KTM star Toby Price had a steady stage coming home in the top 10.

Price was only six minutes and 48 seconds away from leader Brabec to protect his grip on sixth place outright.

“It was a decent stage,” the two time Dakar Rally winner reflected.

“I made a couple of little mistakes towards the end but the guys up front did a very good job.

“The wrists are starting to get a little bit sore from all the stones.

“It was just fun to ride with the boys today.

“It has been a tough rally but we are fighting on and will see what can happen.”

It was a challenging day for Dakar debutante Glenn Brinkman and his Aussie co-driver in T3.

The pair were tracking along steadily across the majority of the first half of the stage until an overheating issue stopped them in their tracks.

Brinkman explained why the team decided to end stage 10 early to fix the car and ensure it will be ready to attack the gravelly stage 11.

“I am getting the full monte experience of Dakar,” Brnkman said.

“We had a good run for the first 150km but then it started to overheat and another 200km was a bit too risky.

“We want to go out tomorrow s thought it was best to go in and fix it. We don’t have too much to play for.”

The fight for the cars Dakar victory between two WRC legends is getting intense.

Despite both leaders finding trouble, Carlos Sainz Senior’s lead over Sebastien Loeb has been slashed again.

As Guerlain Chicherit won the stage, Loeb suffered an early setback stopping at the 53km mark.

Drama then struck Sainz as he stopped for around 10 minutes requiring assistance from Audi teammates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel.

This allowed Loeb to cut the deficit down to just four minutes only for the Prodrive racer to also stop at the 307km mark for a second puncture.

At the end of a dramatic day, Sainz leads Loeb by 13 minutes and 22 seconds with two stages to go.

2024 Dakar Rally bikes classification

Main image Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool

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