The longest stage of the event so far, comprising a 296km special followed by a 208km liaison, proved difficult for many of the competitors today. Good navigation was paramount as well as overall speed, and as such many of the top riders lost valuable time after missing a waypoint.

2016 Dakar champion Toby Price was flying straight from the start. The Australian placed second at the first waypoint, just nine seconds behind team-mate Sunderland. A crash three quarters of the way into the stage cost him a few minutes, but Price continued, eventually posting the third fastest time. Unfortunately, a five-minute penalty relegated Toby to 10th position at the end of the day.

Note this quote was taken before the time penalty was inforced. “Everything felt really good today, I was really comfortable on the bike. I knew my pace was good and so I kept on pushing. I did come off the bike after a big drop-off from one of the dunes around the 140km mark,” said Price.

“Luckily, I didn’t damage myself or the bike too much, the road-book got filled with sand though so for the rest of the stage I had to just ease my pace a little. One of the worst things was that I lost the end to my camelback in the crash and wasn’t able to keep hydrated towards the finish. Apart from that everything was good, you can see on days like today how important it is to stay focused and not make any mistakes. Hopefully I can keep up the same performance for the rest of the rally.”

The reasons behind Price’s five-minute time penalty have not yet been made clear but we will update you once information is made available.

Fellow Aussie Rod Faggotter finished Stage 3 in 14th position and is now 33 minutes behind the race leader. Scott Brittle from Macarthur, NSW is competing in his first ever Dakar Rally and sits in 77th overall.

Provisional Results Stage Three – 2018 Dakar Rally

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:20:43
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:23:46 +3:03
3. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:24:38 +3:55
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 3:25:03 +4:20
5. Gerard Farres (ESP), KTM, 3:25:51 +5:08

10. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:29:11 +8:28 (5min penalty)

Provisional Standings after Stage Three – 2018 Dakar Rally

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:44:23
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 6:49:01 +4:38
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 6:49:23 +5:00
4. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 6:52:23 +8:00
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 6:53:13 +8:50

8. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 6:56:51 +12:28 (5min penalty)