Dakar Stage 10: Loeb reduces Sainz's lead, Brabec tops Bikes

Fresh memories never lie. Seeing the Dakar Stage 10 loop carved out near AlUla, starting and finishing at the bivouac where everyone had gathered less than two weeks ago, it was a given that this special was going to be a wild ride.

The timed sector stretched for 371 kilometers on sandy terrain with a need for speed, either on the track or off-track, sometimes through rocky areas, but almost invariably with nuances to decipher in the road book.

The showdown among the leading competitors was shaped by tricky navigation in the motorbike race and, to some extent, the risk of punctures in the car race.

Cars – Chicherit wins stage, Loeb closes on the leader

Once upon a time, not so long ago, Carlos Sainz and Sébastien Loeb were teammates too, with the Spaniard adding the finishing touch to Peugeot’s victorious streak in 2018. Those days are gone and, as the 2024 edition nears its end, all that remains is a polite yet fierce rivalry. Today was all about avoiding punctures.

Carlos Sainz had a stroke of misfortune, finding himself without a spare wheel after getting not one, but two flat tires. His title prospects would have been dead and buried had Mattias Ekström not come to his rescue, although the whole incident cost him seven or minutes.

This was almost exactly the time that he ended up losing to Sébastien Loeb, who also ended up frustrated after it took him fifteen minutes to change his two tires due to a broken hydraulic jack. 13 minutes separate the top contenders with two stages to go.

Guerlain Chicherit did not emerge unscathed from the rock-strewn terrain either, but he still managed to win the stage.

Bikes – Brabec victory caps Honda 1-2-3

American Ricky Brabec has grabbed his first stage win in this Dakar and extended his overall lead over Ross Branch to 10 minutes, who came in seventh at 3′45″. Nacho Cornejo was second at 2 seconds and Adrien Van Beveren third at 20. VBA escorted Brabec at the front of the race today, a task that will fall upon Nacho tomorrow.

Sherco’s Indian Rally 2 rider, Harith Noah, took a career-best fifth place in the stage.

Once again, Nacho Cornejo‘s spot-on navigation played a crucial role, securing the runner-up’s spot just 2 seconds behind!

Dakar Cars Stage 10 Results

Pos.	No.	Drive-Team	Team	Time	Behind
1	211	(Fra) Guerlain Chicherit (Fra) Alex Winocq	Overdrive Racing	03H 19′ 27”
2	219	(Zaf) Brian Baragwanath (Zaf) Leonard Cremer	Century Racing Factory Team	03H 25′ 10”	+ 00H 05′ 43”
3	223	(Ltu) Benediktas Vanagas (Est) Kuldar Sikk	Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics	03H 25′ 31”	+ 00H 06′ 04”
4	227	(Ita) Eugenio Amos (Ita) Paolo Ceci	Overdrive Racing	03H 25′ 36”	+ 00H 06′ 09”
5	231	(Fra) Romain Dumas (Fra) Max Delfino	Rebellion Racing	03H 26′ 39”	+ 00H 07′ 12”
6	212	(Fra) Mathieu Serradori (Fra) Loic Minaudier	Century Racing Factory Team	03H 29′ 30”	+ 00H 10′ 03”
7	205	(Arg) Juan Cruz Yacopini (Esp) Daniel Oliveras Carreras	Overdrive Racing	03H 29′ 54”	+ 00H 10′ 27”
8	245	(Bra) Cristian Baumgart (Bra) Alberto Andreotti	X Rally	03H 30′ 48”	+ 00H 11′ 21”
9	208	(Cze) Martin Prokop (Cze) Viktor Chytka	Orlen Jipocar Team	03H 31′ 25”	+ 00H 11′ 58”
10	221	(Bel) Guillaume De Mevius (Fra) Xavier Panseri	Overdrive Racing	03H 31′ 28”	+ 00H 12′ 01”

Dakar Cars Overall Standings

Pos.	No.	Drive-Team	Team	Time	Behind
1	204	(Esp) Carlos Sainz (Esp) Lucas Cruz	Team Audi Sport	41H 35′ 12”
2	203	(Fra) Sebastien Loeb (Bel) Fabian Lurquin	Bahrain Raid Xtreme	41H 48′ 34”	+ 00H 13′ 22”
3	206	(Bra) Lucas Moraes (Esp) Armand Monleon	Toyota Gazoo Racing	42H 37′ 56”	+ 01H 02′ 44”
4	221	(Bel) Guillaume De Mevius (Fra) Xavier Panseri	Overdrive Racing	43H 02′ 21”	+ 01H 27′ 09”
5	211	(Fra) Guerlain Chicherit (Fra) Alex Winocq	Overdrive Racing	43H 23′ 07”	+ 01H 47′ 55”
6	212	(Fra) Mathieu Serradori (Fra) Loic Minaudier	Century Racing Factory Team	43H 24′ 11”	+ 01H 48′ 59”
7	208	(Cze) Martin Prokop (Cze) Viktor Chytka	Orlen Jipocar Team	43H 35′ 10”	+ 01H 59′ 58”
8	209	(Zaf) Giniel De Villiers (Zaf) Dennis Murphy	Toyota Gazoo Racing	43H 52′ 32”	+ 02H 17′ 20”
9	243	(Zaf) Guy David Botterill (Zaf) Brett Cummings	Toyota Gazoo Racing	43H 59′ 38”	+ 02H 24′ 26”
10	223	(Ltu) Benediktas Vanagas (Est) Kuldar Sikk	Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics	44H 16′ 03”	+ 02H 40′ 51”

Dakar Bikes Stage 10 Results

Pos.	No.	Rider	Team	Time	Behind
1	9	(Usa) Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda Team	03H 51′ 39”
2	11	(Chl) Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo	Monster Energy Honda Team	03H 51′ 41”	+ 00H 00′ 02”
3	42	(Fra) Adrien Van Beveren	Monster Energy Honda Team	03H 51′ 59”	+ 00H 00′ 20”
4	5	(Aus) Daniel Sanders	Red Bull Gasgas Factory Racing	03H 52′ 26”	+ 00H 00′ 47”
5	20	(Ind) Harith Noah	Sherco Tvs Rally Factory	03H 53′ 34”	+ 00H 01′ 55”
6	1	(Arg) Luciano Benavides	Husqvarna Factory Racing	03H 54′ 12”	+ 00H 02′ 33”
7	46	(Bwa) Ross Branch	Hero Motosports Team Rally	03H 55′ 24”	+ 00H 03′ 45”
8	47	(Arg) Kevin Benavides	Red Bull Ktm Factory Racing	03H 56′ 10”	+ 00H 04′ 31”
9	28	(Fra) Mathieu Doveze	Bas World Ktm Racing Team	03H 57′ 51”	+ 00H 06′ 12”
10	2	(Aus) Toby Price	Red Bull Ktm Factory Racing	03H 58′ 27”	+ 00H 06′ 48”

Dakar Bikes Overall Standings

Pos.	No.	Rider	Team	Time	Behind
1	9	(Usa) Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda Team	44H 45′ 28”
2	46	(Bwa) Ross Branch	Hero Motosports Team Rally	44H 56′ 22”	+ 00H 10′ 54”
3	42	(Fra) Adrien Van Beveren	Monster Energy Honda Team	44H 57′ 14”	+ 00H 11′ 46”
4	11	(Chl) Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo	Monster Energy Honda Team	44H 59′ 16”	+ 00H 13′ 48”
5	47	(Arg) Kevin Benavides	Red Bull Ktm Factory Racing	45H 18′ 11”	+ 00H 32′ 43”
6	2	(Aus) Toby Price	Red Bull Ktm Factory Racing	45H 27′ 28”	+ 00H 42′ 00”
7	1	(Arg) Luciano Benavides	Husqvarna Factory Racing	45H 37′ 10”	+ 00H 51′ 42”
8	5	(Aus) Daniel Sanders	Red Bull Gasgas Factory Racing	45H 46′ 02”	+ 01H 00′ 34”
9	142	(Svk) Stefan Svitko	Slovnaft Rally Team	46H 24′ 31”	+ 01H 39′ 03”
10	23	(Cze) Martin Michek	Orion – Moto Racing Group	47H 15′ 13”	+ 02H 29′ 45”