2023 Dakar Rally | Stage Four Highlights & Results

January 4, 2023

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2023 DAKAR RALLY | COMPLETE COVERAGE

PHOTOS | Honda

Stage Four of the 2023 Dakar Rally started and ended at the Ha’il bivouac, a high-altitude loop of sand trails, dunes, and dirt roads that totaled 574 kilometers (425 km Special, 152 Liaison).

There’s a reason Joan Barreda is listed as a “Legend” in the results. A decade at the Dakar has seen the Spanish rider earn many daily wins, and he clinched the twenty-ninth of his career on Stage Four. The Monster Energy JB Team rider’s times from sector to sector kept him near the top of the scoreboard all day, so when others faulted in the closing Ks, “Bang Bang” took over. He is now fourth overall, four minutes and thirty seconds behind in the general classification.

Barreda’s victory wasn’t clear at first, because officials had to calculate the time Jose Ignacio Cornejo spent waiting with Joaquim Rodrigues for the medical team to arrive. Rodrigues, riding for Hero Motosports, went down 90 km into the Special and suffered a broken leg. Cornejo’s time was calculated repeatedly, came out to seven and a half minutes, and put him ninth overall on the day.

Hero Motosports saw three of its riders go through setbacks on Wednesday when Rodrigues went out with injury, a dry fuel tank stopped Sebastian Bühler, and Ross Branch battled mechanical problems. The team has one other entry, Franco Caimi, who is currently listed in thirteenth.

Mason Klein faced his first serious problem on Stage Four. The American was again part of the lead-out and claimed bonus time awarded for being one of the first to reach certain checkpoints, only to have the fuel pump on BAS World KTM sputter out a short distance from the finish line and take away the day’s win. Klein is now sixth overall, ten minutes behind ongoing leader Daniel Sanders.

Less than five minutes separate the top four (Sanders, Howes, Benavides, Barreda).