Stage 9 at the Dakar led riders from Ha’il to AlUla. Totaling 639 kilometers, the long day in the desert challenged competitors with a series of fast tracks and rocky pistes. Navigation proved key to a strong result, with riders forced to take extra care of their roadbook notes, especially when racing across the rocky plateaus encountered on the special.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price has secured a top-four result on the rough and demanding Stage 9 at the 2024 Dakar Rally.
Fifth into the stage, Price immediately set about chasing down the four riders ahead of him. Making up excellent time to kilometer 110, the KTM 450 RALLY racer was comfortably inside the top five on the timesheets and looking to improve further. A small mistake unfortunately cost the Aussie several minutes as he made his way back to the correct route. However, with other riders making similar errors, Toby was able to get his head down and deliver a solid pace from there to the finish. Completing the day in fourth, Price retains his sixth-place position in the provisional overall standings.
Toby Price: “Stage nine is done and I’m really happy with how I rode today. The terrain was tricky – there were lots of rocks, but in the sun, it made it hard to see properly and judge what was lying ahead. I made one small mistake on one WPC and lost some time, but other than that, everything went smoothly. That’s one more stage ticked off with three more to go. I’m having fun out there, so everything is good.”
Meanwhile, the second week at the Dakar hasn’t started quite as well as week one ended for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders, but he’s still in the race, and well inside the top-10 overall as the event nears its conclusion. After a couple of close calls on today’s ninth stage, Chucky wisely backed it down to complete the special safe and sound, and now lies eighth overall in the provisional classification.
We’re nearing the end of Dakar 2024, and this year’s event has been a real tough one. Today’s ninth stage saw Sanders race for almost five hours in the desert with his total time after nine stages nearing 42 hours. And we still have three days to go! But the most important thing is that Daniel’s still in the race, he’s healthy, and he’s gaining more experience with every kilometer, stage, and day completed. Three to go Chucky, you’ve got this!
Daniel Sanders: “Another tough stage done and we’re one day closer to the finish. It was a bit of a rough day. I tried my best but struggled a lot and I had a few close calls early on, too. After that I settled down a bit and cruised on home. I stayed in my comfort zone, didn’t push too hard, and unfortunately lost some time today. But that’s better than not finishing at all. I’m happy to finish another stage, though, especially as today was a really long day on the bike.”
Provisional Results – 2024 Dakar Rally, Stage 9
1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 4:36:36
2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 4:37:18 +0:42
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Honda, 4:41:05 +4:29
4. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 4:43:20 +6:44
5. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 4:43:45 +7:09
16. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4:58:22
Provisional Standings – 2024 Dakar Rally (after 9 of 12 stages)
1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 40:53:49
2. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 41:00:58 +7:09
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 41:05:05 +11:16
4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 41:07:35 +13:46
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 41:21:51 +28:02
6. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 41:29:01 +35:12
8. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 41:53:36
