The fifth edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia promises to push man and machine harder than any of the previous ones.
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dakar
https://www.twitter.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2024
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dakar
https://www.twitter.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2024
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
Category
🥇
SportTranscription
00:00 (engines revving)
00:02 - With 6,500 kilometers ridden, the Dakar wears you down.
00:26 The rocks, the roads, the sand, the dunes,
00:31 the endless punishment of body, mind, and machine.
00:35 The wear and tear.
00:36 But out here in the Saudi desert,
00:38 it's not just the terrain that takes its toll
00:41 when the sun rises.
00:43 The lack of sleep, the midday heat,
00:46 the bitter cold, and the wind.
00:54 - Yeah, a little bit cold, windy.
00:56 - How'd you feel this morning, Jacob?
01:00 - Good, yeah, it was cold, windy.
01:02 You know, the bike's going like this,
01:03 you're like, "Argh," but good.
01:04 - It's the same of Dinkirk during the winter training
01:11 when I am in France, but it's okay for me.
01:14 - Stage nine, another long one,
01:18 and with some very complex navigational conundrums,
01:21 as we'll see.
01:22 Add to that some perilous, rocky plateaus,
01:25 and this could be a very special special.
01:28 And so to the action.
01:33 Kevin Benavidez, winner yesterday, first out today.
01:38 He found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.
01:41 It wasn't Kevin's day, sixth for the Argentine.
01:46 (dramatic music)
01:48 After a tactical mistake yesterday,
01:54 Adrian Van Beveren went out before he wanted to,
01:57 but he made the best of both his starting position
02:00 and his current form, hoovering up five minutes 26
02:03 in time bonuses, which brought him a fifth Dakar stage.
02:07 - It was really, really difficult today.
02:09 I tried my best, I really tried to be consistent,
02:12 and I think it was a good stage.
02:14 - AVB's bonuses meant he beat Ricky Brabeck,
02:17 despite the overall leader's faster raw time.
02:20 Scores on the doors, Ricky 32 seconds back on the special.
02:23 Three Hondas took the day's honors, Pablo Quintanilla third.
02:26 - The best case scenario is if Ross gets second today to me.
02:31 That's the best case scenario.
02:34 - Sorry, Ricky, didn't turn out that way.
02:36 Motswana Brant riding the hero finished 7.09
02:39 behind Van Beveren, which is the exact same amount of time
02:42 he now trails Brabeck in the classification.
02:45 - It's crunch time, and I would have liked to have
02:49 been up there a little bit closer today.
02:51 - There are two riders here who have no idea
02:53 where they stand, either on the stage or overall.
02:56 Harit Noah and Tony Mulec have both decided
02:58 not to follow social media or their own progress
03:01 on the Dakar, but why?
03:02 - Because I don't look at any videos.
03:05 I mean, I don't use social media and stuff
03:08 like someone else does it, so yeah, during the Dakar.
03:11 (upbeat music)
03:15 - For sure, the whole day is just focused
03:17 on the navigation all the time.
03:18 When I come back to the bivouac, I try to refuel my body,
03:22 to calm down my brains a little bit.
03:25 - Mulec is 15th after today.
03:27 Noah, bettering his ambitions, third in Rally 2,
03:29 13th overall.
03:31 Yesterday, we said it was down to five.
03:32 Now it looks like four.
03:34 The three Bs at the top, Brabeck, Brant, and Van Beveren.
03:37 And in W2RC, it's Brabeck and Brant at the top.
03:40 A 10th stage win for Alexandre Giroud
03:43 as the quads competition is reaching an exciting climax.
03:47 At this stage last year, Giroud led overall
03:49 by an hour and 20.
03:50 The year before, he was two hours 43 up after stage 10.
03:54 We've been waiting for this for a while.
03:55 Manuel Andujar at the top of the standings, though,
03:58 by six minutes and 13 seconds, with three days left.
04:01 My father turned 77 this week.
04:06 He plays bridge, collects his pension,
04:07 and he's currently on a cruise.
04:09 Jean-Pierre Strugo also turned 77 this year,
04:12 and he's here competing his 33rd Dakar.
04:15 Passion, sharing, and going beyond yourself.
04:22 When we started to get to the finish,
04:25 back in the day, the Dakar started
04:28 on Place de la Concorde in Paris.
04:30 I had my officers there.
04:31 They would come and tease me and say, "Get involved."
04:34 Two or three years later, it happened.
04:36 It was the unknown adventure,
04:40 the fulfillment of one or two years of preparation.
04:43 I have fantastic memories.
04:45 In the beginning, it was nonsense.
04:48 It was crazy, totally improvised.
04:51 That was the great strength of the founder, Thierry Sabine.
04:54 He would take a bunch of adventurers, of friends,
04:57 and we didn't know what to expect.
04:58 Some people are cured after the first attempt at the Dakar,
05:05 but that wasn't the case for me.
05:07 I didn't finish it the first time or the second time
05:09 or the third or the fourth time.
05:11 I needed a big dose of perseverance.
05:13 It is easier.
05:18 It's easier because I have all the experience
05:21 and my driving is based on the car,
05:23 on my physical condition, on the terrain,
05:27 and it forces me to stay in shape throughout the whole year.
05:30 I'll keep going until I find the antidote.
05:36 As long as I have the passion and the physical ability,
05:39 there's no reason to stop.
05:41 A true Dakar hero, a true inspiration.
05:43 Defending T1+ champion Nasser Al-Attiyah
05:47 has had a Dakar to forget.
05:48 Sorry, I don't want to jump again in this car.
05:52 You know, I decide, you know, just coming to say thank you
05:57 and I leave home tonight.
05:59 If I am not Nasser Al-Attiyah,
06:06 OK, I will accept.
06:09 This year for Dakar, I learned something, you know,
06:13 in my life and, yeah, never will happen again.
06:17 So now it's lobe versus science and it is tasty.
06:21 There's no reason to be scared.
06:25 I'm not worrying about the others.
06:26 I'm just doing my own race,
06:28 trying to do as well as I can on every special with Fabien.
06:32 Just do our job.
06:37 Nasser had problems again today?
06:39 Yeah.
06:40 Damn.
06:41 My car seems to work pretty well.
06:43 It seems to work.
06:44 I really don't think either Nasser or Seb
06:47 are cut out for politics,
06:48 but driving race cars, hell yeah.
06:50 One small navigation error yesterday cost Loeb dearly.
06:53 The BRX man picked up a fourth win of this year's Dakar,
06:57 chomping four minutes off Carlos's lead.
07:00 It would have been more had the French puncture magnet
07:02 not drawn two more.
07:03 So just one pro drive left,
07:05 but the four rings still have three in the race.
07:08 Today, we got a glimpse of how they're going to play.
07:10 Ekstrom led out for science,
07:11 Peder Hansel behind to help out if needed.
07:13 Clever, force rondeau technique.
07:16 Carlos was second and has a comfortable cushion.
07:18 Toyota Gazoo Racing's Lucas Moraes
07:24 was flying again in the early part of the stage,
07:26 but in the final 80K, he lost six minutes.
07:29 He's going to be the first to finish.
07:31 But in the final 80K, he lost six minutes,
07:33 meaning he ended up eighth instead of the third he was set for,
07:36 but still lies third overall.
07:38 Four wheel drive good, two wheel drive bad,
07:41 said George Orwell.
07:42 But Mati Serradori would disagree.
07:44 Third fastest with one of the drives of the year
07:46 in his Century CR6.
07:48 We had a little problem on the liaison.
07:53 Yesterday, we towed Seb and Fabien.
07:56 This evening, he stopped with 15K to go to tow us here.
07:59 So we're happy.
08:01 We're obviously not boxing in the same category.
08:03 But today, thanks to our navigation and what we did on the track,
08:06 it paid off. We're super happy.
08:08 We're very, very happy.
08:09 There's now 20 minutes with three specials left.
08:15 Seven minutes a day will do it for Seb.
08:17 Benediktas Banagas is still in the top ten.
08:20 Moraes 30 minutes ahead of Guillaume Demevius.
08:23 A smart stage strategy from challenger leader Mitch Guthrie,
08:29 the American minimised his risk of punctures and mechanicals.
08:32 He's got 28 minutes in hand.
08:34 The Quran says in a marriage, each spouse has a role.
08:38 In the Cavignasso marriage, the roles are this.
08:40 Nico's the driver, Valet the co-driver.
08:42 A convincing first win at the Dakar for the husband and wife.
08:46 Cristiano Batista won stage nine,
08:48 but a disaster for teammate Joao Ferreira.
08:50 We lost the fuel pressure and we have to change the fuel pump.
08:54 Batista roared to victory in the SSVs,
08:56 but the big winner on the day, Xavier de Soultre.
08:59 He now has a clear road ahead for a first Dakar title.
09:02 Ferreira was his closest rival, but lost an hour.
09:11 Rookie Sarah Price is second.
09:13 The overall gaps in T5 can end up as titanic as the trucks themselves.
09:20 Take Alish Loprais back up to second,
09:22 but nearly two hours off the pace.
09:28 Martin Maciek could have asked navigator Frank Tomasek
09:31 to find a nice spot for a picnic, such is their advantage.
09:34 The Czechs could afford to ease off and let Gurs Huzink
09:39 take his first stage win this year.
09:41 In case you're wondering, he's 58 hours back overall,
09:44 which is enough to watch all five seasons of The Wire.
09:48 This isn't going down to The Wire, though.
09:51 Maciek's crew are the A-team.
09:52 We had 12 stages on the bill.
09:54 Every day we've had a big casualty.
09:56 Some leaders are on Coronation Street already,
09:59 previous winners continuing their dynasty
10:01 and new stars having the days of their lives.
10:03 The competitors may not be friends, but every one of them is a survivor.
10:07 They have one life to live and they're living it at Dakar 2024.
10:10 (gentle music)