Finished the 9th stage of the Dakar Rally

The ninth stage of the 45th Dakar Rally organized by Saudi Arabia took place on the 358-kilometre track between the cities of Riyadh and Haradh.

Bahrain Raid’s Sebastien Loeb took first place in the car class with a time of 3 hours 7 minutes 24 seconds. The French rider won the stage title for the third time this year and for the 19th time in his career.

On the stage, Lithuanian Vaidotas Zala of the Teltonika Racing team was second behind Loeb by a margin of 57 seconds, while French GCK Motorsport driver Guerlain Chicherit was third, 2 minutes 8 seconds behind Loeb.

Toyota Gazoo’s Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has won the Dakar Rally 4 times, including last year, and finished the ninth stage in eighth place in 3 hours, 16 minutes and 22 seconds, continued to lead the overall standings. The difference between Red Bull athlete Al-Attiyah and his closest follower, Brazilian Lucas Moraes (Overdrive Racing), was 1 hour 21 minutes 57 seconds.

BENAVIDES WINS ON MOTORCYCLE

Luciano Benavides, who competed on behalf of the Husqvarna team in the motorcycle category, completed the stage in 3 hours, 18 minutes and 44 seconds, reaching first place.

Australian Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) was second, 1 minute and 2 seconds behind the Argentine rider. Completing the ninth stage 2 minutes and 57 seconds off the lead, Husqvarna’s Skyler Howes came in third.

Howes held the overall lead, just 3 seconds ahead of Price.

The tenth stage of the race will take place tomorrow on the 114-kilometre track between the cities of Haradh and Shaybah. The 2023 Dakar Rally, which will last for 14 stages, will end on January 15 in Dammam. (AA)