Dakar Rally stage 6 morning news, incidents - 357 km of special on today's programme 06.01.2023: DAKAR RALLY 2023 Saudi-Arabia Stage 6 from HA'IL to AL DUWADIMI Friday, January 6th 2023 The sixth stage will be contested on the originally planned special route, with the number of kilometres reduced by around 100, bringing it down to 35

DAKAR RALLY 2023
Saudi-Arabia
Stage 6 from HA'IL to AL DUWADIMI
Friday, January 6th 2023






The sixth stage will be contested on the originally planned special route, with the number of kilometres reduced by around 100, bringing it down to 357 km. As on the previous day, dunes and sand are on today's menu. Once again, perfection in dune crossing technique will be decisive in order to gain time. The riders, drivers and crews will then take the link route (of about 300 km) to the bivouac in Riyadh.





Al Attiyah set to take advantage | T1
11:26

Following the premature exit from the rally by Stéphane Peterhansel and the problems faced by Carlos Sainz as well as Yazeed Al Rajhi, Nasser Al Attiyah should make clear gains in his lead in the general rankings. The title holder is the fastest driver so far on the stage after 236 km, more than 4’ ahead of Sébastien Loeb.




Andújar hammers home his advantage | Q
11:24

After 236 km, Manuel Andújar leads Alexandre Giroud by 2’49’’. Yesterday’s winner, Francisco Moreno Flores, has moved up into fourth place, a little less than 6’ behind the current stage leader. For the moment, the special is tipping in favour of Giroud who should gain minutes over Moreno Flores in the general rankings.




De Mevius still holds the lead | T3
11:17

After 121 km, Guillaume De Mevius is the quickest driver with a lead of 1’ over Austin Jones, David Zille and Seth Quintero. Mitch Guthrie trails De Mevius by almost two minutes.




Accident and exit from the rally for Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz at a standstill | T1
11:11

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
10:54

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.





Peterhansel retains the lead | T1
10:45

After 207 km, Stéphane Peterhansel has posted the best time and improved his lead to almost 1’30’’ over Nasser Al Attiyah. Yazeed Al Rajhi is 24’’ behind the Qatari in provisional third place. Carlos Sainz has conceded 3 minutes and Sébastien Loeb trails by 5’.




A family affair for the Goczałs | T4
10:36

Eryk Goczał has achieved the best time after 121 km ahead of his father Marek and his uncle Michał, both approximately one minute behind. Gerard Farrés occupies fourth place, trailing by almost 1’30’’.




Mitchel Van Den Brink leads
10:30

After 84 km, Mitchel Van Den Brink is the quickest truck driver with a lead of a little more than one minute over Janus Van Kasteren. Martin Macík, fourth in the general rankings, is third, 2’ ahead of Aleš Loprais.





Mechanical problems for Valtr
10:26

Jaroslav Valtr, fifth in the general rankings more than an hour from the top, has ground to a halt after 29 km due to mechanical problems.




Andújar and Giroud within a whisker of each other | Q
10:17

Manuel Andújar has again achieved the best provisional time after 163 km. The Argentinean, who is wearing a helmet in the colours of the Argentinean flag, has a lead of only 13’’ over Alexandre Giroud. With Laisvydas Kancius suffering mechanical problems, Pablo Copetti has regained third place, more than 2 minutes behind.



STAGES 7 AND 8 IN MARATHON MODE
10:08

 . With the weather conditions preventing the installation of the bivouac at Al Duwadimi in complete operating conditions for the entire caravan, stages 7 and 8 have been rearranged in order to propose an equivalent sporting programme that is relevant for the competitors. Based on the initial route, the specials for stages 7 and 8 have been exchanged, with shortened distances making it possible to have a manageable link route on each of the days.

. For stage 7, which will take place on Saturday 7th January (Riyadh > Al Duwadimi), the special will take place over 333 kilometres. Since the competitors were not expecting a genuine marathon stage at this point in the race, an assistance zone will be set up after the finishing line of the special (via a 94-km link route), for a maximum time slot of two hours. The riders, drivers and crews will then head towards Al Duwadimi (via a 240-link route) where their vehicles will be parked in a secure enclosure.

. Stage 8, on Sunday 8th January, will take the return journey to Riyadh, with the loop initially planned for stage 7 on the programme, but shortened by 128 kilometres. The race against the clock will therefore take place over 345 kilometres and then the competitors will head to the bivouac in Riyadh.

. The rest day will take place at the site in Riyadh on Monday 9th January and the Dakar will then resume its initially planned schedule… in the sunshine!





The leading pack are tightly grouped | T1
10:04

After 163 km, Stéphane Peterhansel still leads the dance, followed 19’’ behind by Nasser Al Attiyah. Yazeed Al Rajhi trails the Frenchman by 36’’, while Carlos Sainz has conceded almost 1’30’’ in the provisional stage rankings to his team-mate. “El Matador” in turn is only one second ahead of Sébastien Loeb.




De Mevius takes the lead | T3
10:00

The new leader in the T3 category, Guillaume De Mevius, has posted the best provisional time at the first time check. The Belgian leads Seth Quintero by 21’’ and David Zille by 25’’. Mitch Guthrie, the main loser yesterday due to mechanical problems, occupies fifth place, 49’’ behind the current stage leader.





Chicherit is still in the reckoning | T1
09:44

“Tomorrow, we’ll be the 5th car to start, which is an ideal position, so we have no excuses!” exclaimed Guerlain Chicherit yesterday evening. The Frenchman is enjoying a good start to the special because he possesses the sixth best provisional time after 121 km, 1’11’’ behind Stéphane Peterhansel.




Mathieu Doveze grits his teeth | R2
09:43

Mathieu Doveze, French team Nomade Racing's Rally2 rider, has crashed on the first part of the stage. The medical team gave him the green light to resume racing at the refuelling point. "Much" is gritting his teeth and getting on with it. In his category, it is his countryman Romain Dumontier who is again dominating the special with almost a three-minute lead over Slovenian "rookie" Toni Mulec. Paolo Lucci trails by 3'29'' after 207 km.



A duel between Loprais and Van Den Brink? | T5
09:35

Aleš Loprais, the winner of stage 5, has got the truck special underway. The Czech driver leads the general rankings with an advantage of 15 minutes over Martin Van Den Brink. The two leaders will be opening the way in the truck race.





Sanders is back on form
09:26

Daniel Sanders has reached the refuelling point after 207 km with the 5th best time. The Australian is within a second of Joan Barreda and 2'17'' behind the best time set by Skyler Howes. He seems to have but his off day yesterday well behind him.




“Peter” overtakes Nasser | T1
09:24

“Peter” overtakes Nasser Stéphane Peterhansel now has the best provisional time after 84 km. The Frenchman has moved in front of Nasser Al Attiyah and Carlos Sainz by 8’’. Yazeed Al Rajhi occupies fourth place, only 15’’ ahead of Sébastien Loeb.





The state of play with bonuses included after 207 km | GP
09:11

After 207 km, where the bonuses stopped being awarded the 3 opening bikers, Nacho Cornejo, who started 2nd in the special behind AVB, has done the best so far. The Chilean pocketed 10'' more bonus than he lost on the best time set by Skyler Howes. Virtually, it is the HRC rider who leads the stage by 10'' in front of the HVA official biker. In 3rd place, Toby Price is 17'' behind the leader thanks to his bonuses and in front of Luciano Benavides by 1'02''.

AVB, who opened the way is 5th, 2'23'' behind his team-mate Nacho thanks to the bonuses acquired, meaning he only lags behind by the actual timed distance. Joan Barrreda, Kevin Benavides and Matthias Walkner are a few seconds behind AVB. This second group should make up some time on the second part of the stage as the openers have no bonuses left. Mason Klein is currently 5'31" behind the stage leader.




The SSVs get the stage underway | T4
09:08

After taking a second stage victory this year, Rokas Baciuška is back on the podium in the SSV category. The Lithuanian opens the way for his colleagues today ahead of Cristiano Batista, who was deprived of victory yesterday due to a penalty.




The top 7 within 30 seconds | T1
09:05

Once again, it is a tight struggle in the car race, because seven drivers are within a 30’’ time bracket after 31 km. Nasser Al Attiyah leads in front of Stéphane Peterhansel and Sébastien Loeb. Carlos Sainz occupies fifth place behind Yazeed Al Rajhi




Mechanical problem for Kancius | Q
08:50

Having started the day in provisional third place in the general rankings, Laisvydas Kancius is currently at a standstill after 109 km of the special due to a mechanical problem. The Lithuanian was third after 84 km, less than a minute behind Manuel Andújar.



The stage is underway for the lightweight prototypes | T3
08:46

Yesterday's winner, Seth Quintero has kicked off proceedings in the T3 category. After a complicated start to the rally, the Californian has climbed onto the provisional overall podium. Even if he is more than one hour behind the leader, he knows that in the Dakar many twists and turns can occur until the finishing line on the last special has been crossed.




Andújar vs. Giroud again! | Q
08:40

After 121 km, Manuel Andújar is still the quickest quad rider, but the Argentinean only has a lead of 16’’ over general rankings leader Alexandre Giroud. The two rivals are opening up a gap on their pursuers, with Pablo Copetti in third, more than 2 minutes behind.



150 km of the special left | GP
08:39

A dozen RallyGP riders have already reached the refuelling point after 207 km, where they are filling up their machines, replenishing their camel-bags and replacing, if necessary, the cartridges in their airbags. There are 150 km of special left to race.




Sanders is still in the reckoning | GP
08:34

Daniel Sanders felt ill yesterday and had a definite off day, finishing 21st on stage 5, but has taken starter’s orders this morning. After 163 km, he boasts the 9th best time, 1'55’’ behind the current stage leader. The Australian seems to be on better form than the day before.



Moraes is not faint-hearted | T1
08:33

Third on the Baja d’Aragon last year behind Nasser Al Attiyah and Yazeed Al Rajhi, Lucas Moraes is taking part in his first Dakar. His objective is to finish in the top 10 on a special. The Brazilian, assisted by Timo Gottschalk (the former co-pilot of Al Attiyah, among others) has done better than hoped because he has featured in the top ten in the last three stages. This performance has allowed him to move into seventh in the general rankings, a little more than one hour behind Al Attiyah. He is the seventh driver to start the day’s special.





Luciano Benavides moves into second place | GP
08:20

After 163 km, Luciano Benavides has ridden his Husqvarna into second place, just one minute behind his team-mate Skyler Howes. They lead the three Hondas ridden by Pablo Quintanilla, Joan Barreda and Nacho Cornejo, who now has 2’37’’ bonuses and is in the virtual lead of the stage…




A tough blow for Gomez | R2
08:14

Sandra Gomez was leading the women's trophy in yesterday's stage and was in the lead ahead of her rival Mirjam Pol. The Spanish rider lost time this morning and could not make it to the start of the stage in time. She will therefore not be able to participate in today's stage.





Time losses for Loeb yesterday | T1
08:02

Sebastien Loeb lost time after rolling his car onto the side yesterday, finishing the stage 20 minutes behind Nasser Al Attiyah. "Behind a tricky dune, there was a hole that I didn't see, so we hit the front left and it sent us over onto the side," said the BRX driver, who described the stage as physically challenging. The Frenchman is the ninth driver to start the day's stage.



Last portion before refuelling | GP
07:57

After 163 km, Skyler Howes is still the quickest biker, but is no longer pursued by Nacho Cornejo. Instead, it is another rider from the Honda clan, namely Pablo Quintanilla. Cornejo now lies 1’32’’ behind. There are just slightly less than 50 km for the openers to get their hands on more bonuses…




Al Attiyah at the start | T1
07:52

After winning yesterday's stage, Nasser Al Attiyah has consolidated his status as leader. The Toyota driver is now 22' ahead of Stéphane Peterhansel and 27' ahead of Yazeed Al Rajhi. "We're tired but happy not to have had any problems today," said the Qatari, who will open the way today.




Van Beveren in 9th but is picking up bonuses | GP
07:48

Adrien Van Beveren trails Skyler Howes by 2’51’’ but the Frenchman, yesterday’s winner, is playing the stage like Pacman, gobbling up the bonuses. He has already accumulated 2’56’’ bonuses and is virtually 5’’ ahead of Howes!




Howes hammers home his advantage
07:43

After 121 km, Skyler Howes has increased his lead to over a minute over Nacho Cornejo. The American has posted the best time, but his Chilean rival continues to pick up bonus seconds, and almost has 2 minutes’ worth.




Anadújar moves into the lead | Q
07:38

Manuel Anadújar has been the quickest quad rider after 31 km, 6’’ ahead of Alexandre Giroud and 16’’ in front of Marcelo Medeiros. The general rankings leader and yesterday’s winner, Francisco Moreno Flores, trails the current stage leader by 43’’.



Howes takes the lead | GP
07:22

Skyler Howes has moved into the lead after 84 km and is now ahead of Nacho Cornejo by 29’’ and Kevin Benavides by 32’’. For the moment, Cornejo has accumulated 1’20’’ bonuses and is virtually first in the provisional stage rankings, a little more than one minute ahead of Howes, who seems determined to open up a gap.



Dumontier provisionally leads | R2
07:11

After winning the last two stages in the Rally2 class, Romain Dumontier has started the day’s special in the same manner. The Frenchman has been the quickest rider of his class after 31 km, 42’’ ahead of Toby Mulec. Paolo Lucci, his nearest rival for the title, has already conceded more than 1’15’’.



AVB loses a little time | GP
07:06

Adrien Van Beveren, who has been opening the special, has lost a minute to the provisional stage leader, Nacho Cornejo after 84 km. However, the Frenchman has accumulated 45’’ of bonuses, so the gap between the Chilean and Frenchman is only virtually 15’’.




The Benavides brothers move ahead of Price | GP
06:53

Respectively the 8th and 12th riders to start, Kevin Benavides and his brother Luciano have accomplished the third and fourth best provisional times after 31 km, less than 10’’ behind current stage leader Nacho Cornejo, moving ahead of Toby Price who drops into fifth.





12 quads start stage 6 | Q
06:51

12 quads start stage 6 There are 16 riders in the quad category at the start of today's special. Francisco Moreno Flores put an end to Alexandre Giroud's domination by winning yesterday. The Argentinian rider took a few minutes off the overall leader and is now just under 40' behind the Frenchman. In third, Laivydas Kancius is more than 1 hour and 10 minutes behind.





Cornejo has already completed 31 km | GP
06:33

Nacho Cornejo has posted the best provisional time at the first intermediate point. Skyler Howes, Toby Price and Adrien Van Beveren are hot on his heels, only 10’’ behind. Cornejo, Price and AVB have already picked up some bonus seconds.





Vega takes control in the Original by Motul class | R2
06:17

Javi Vega achieved the best time on yesterday’s special in the Original by Motul category for unassisted bikers. The Spaniard finished with a lead of 1’42’’ over Charan Moore, who lost first place in the general rankings by just 11’’ “To be honest, it’s incredible,” commented Vega on Instagram yesterday. “I’ve worked very hard throughout the year to reach this goal and now I’ve achieved it, I can’t quite believe it”. More than 18 minutes behind, David Pabiska is on the third step of the provisional podium.





The day’s bonuses | GP
06:13

The day’s bonuses reward the first three riders to open the way over the first 206 kilometres before refuelling. As a reminder, the bonuses are as follows: 1.5’’ per km for the first rider; 1’’ per km for the second; 0.5’’ km for the third. As a result, the rider who opens the way from the start to refuelling will receive 5’09’’ of bunuses.



Barreda still in the reckoning | GP
06:05

Joan Barreda, winner of stage 4 and therefore opener of yesterday's special, made a navigational mistake and then crashed later on. However, "Bang Bang" was more shaken than stirred and was able to resume stage and finish 14th, a little more than 13' behind Adrien Van Beveren. "I fell with around 30 km to go," he said. I was a bit shocked, but then I stayed with my team-mates and we reached the finish together". Barreda, sixth overall at less than 10', will be the 14th rider to start today.








- ASO also photo