Attiyah and Benavides are the winners of the 6th stage of the Dakar

The sixth stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally was won by Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah in the car category and Argentina’s Luciano Benavides in the motorcycle category.

The 6th stage of the 45th Dakar Rally held in Saudi Arabia was held on the 358-kilometre route between the cities of Hail and Riyadh. Toyota Gazoo’s Al-Attiyah took first place in the car class with a time of 3 hours 13 minutes 12 seconds.

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid) was second, 3 minutes and 29 seconds behind the Qatari driver, and South African Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo) was third, 8 minutes and 52 seconds behind the leader.

For his part, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (Audi), who was running second in the general classification before the stage, was unable to complete the race due to an accident. Having won 14 championships in the organization, 8 times by car and 6 times by motorcycle, Peterhansel withdrew from the Dakar Rally after his co-driver Edouard Boulanger was injured and hospitalized.

Al-Attiyah, who won the Dakar Rally 4 times, including last year, continued to lead the general classification. Red Bull athlete Al-Attiyah increased the gap between his closest follower, Lategan, to 1 hour, 6 minutes and 50 seconds.

HOW ON THE MOTORCYCLE IS ON THE TOP

Luciano Benavides, who competed on behalf of the Husqvarna team in the motorcycle category, completed the stage in 3 hours 14 minutes and 19 seconds and reached first place.

The Argentine rider was followed by the American Skyler Howes at 56 seconds and the Australian Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) at 2 minutes and 20 seconds from the same team.

Howes continued to lead the general classification, 3 minutes 31 seconds ahead of Price.

The seventh stage of the race will take place tomorrow on the 398-kilometre track between the cities of Riyadh and Duvedmi. The 2023 Dakar Rally, which will last for 14 stages, will end on January 15 in Dammam. (AA)