Dakar 2024, Stage 5: Quintanilla king of the dunes, Lucci solid in Rally2

Don’t be misled by a special stage of just 118 km. During this fifth stage of the 2024 Dakar, riders had to cover more than 500 km in all, with a timed section comprised entirely of dunes (for the first time this year), which complicated navigation towards the day’s finish line in Shubaytah, the last stop before competitors officially enter the Empty Quarter. In the immense Saudi desert, it was perhaps no surprise to see one of the great specialists on this terrain, Pablo Quintanilla, leading the way.

After a tough Stage 4 in which he closed 18 minutes from the front, the Chilean was back on top with the factory Honda CRF450 Rally today, finishing ahead of Adrien Van Beveren, he too a sand expert, as demonstrated by his three career wins at the Enduropale du Touquet. In third place, Toby Price with the KTM, the Australian finally back at the sharp end.

Branch leads the way once more, Lucci centre stage in Rally2

Having lost overall first place after a rather complicated fourth stage, Ross Branch is now back in the lead thanks to a sixth-place finish in today’s special (3'42''). He moves ahead of José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, who lost 6 minutes after having opened what is one of the most complex stages in terms of navigation.

Joan Barreda Bort was also in difficulty, losing more than 10 minutes with the Hero, while the opposite was true of Paolo Lucci. The Tuscan rider was not only the best placed Italian today but ran with the frontrunners, just missing out on the top ten and reaching the Rally2 stage podium.

Klein surprises with the Kove, problems for Benavides

American Mason Klein also put in a fantastic performance after a series of setbacks over the last few days. Today, the rising star of the Rally Raids was able to power his Kove to final fifth place, while it was a day to forget for Luciano Benavides. The current world champion’s factory Husqvarna suffered engine problems and so although he reached the finish, Luciano lost 4'22'' over the final 5 km.