Third victory for Luciano Benavides on the Dakar 2023, which is in the 11th stage disputed this Thursday. The day also saw another change of leader, with Skyler Howes returning to the top.
During a day spent in the Empty Quarter desert, Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) set the tone from an early age and ended up winning by 1m38 ahead of Daniel Sanders (Red Bull GasGas). Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) was a formidable opponent to his compatriot, finishing third 1:56 seconds behind the leader and 18 seconds behind second place.
Howes (Husqvarna) entered this race following losing the lead yesterday and, thanks to a consistent performance, achieved the fourth record which took him to the top of the standings, having passed 2:09 seconds more than the winner to complete the course. Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda) completes the top five. Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM) defended race command, but tenth time at 6:22 cost him that position.
In the general classification, the lead is once once more in the hands of Howes, who is now 28 seconds ahead of Price. Kevin Benavides dropped to third place with a time of 2:44, followed by two Monster Energy Honda riders: Quintanilla and Adrien van Beveren, who reversed their positions following this stage. Luciano Benavides continues to climb in the standings and is now sixth, but he is 18:06 off the top.
Top 10 of the stage:
Top 10 overall:
