• Engine Carles Falcón, in induced coma after a very serious fall: "His recovery is uncertain"

Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al Rajhi snatched the lead of the 2024 Dakar car general classification from Spain's Carlos Sainz on Monday by 29 seconds in a third stage in which Brazil's Lucas Moraes took the victory by nine seconds from Sweden's Mattias Ekström.

On two wheels, the Chilean Pablo Quintanilla led an endless stage of up to 733 kilometers ahead of the Spaniard Joan Barreda, who finished second and who seems to be aiming for the general classification of the motorcycles, in which the Botswana Ross Branch continues to lead.

With a time of 4 hours, 14 minutes and 51 seconds, Moraes overtook Ekström and Al Rajhi, who was third at 1 minute and nine seconds, a time that allowed him to take two minutes and twenty seconds from Sainz, who arrived at the stage with one minute and 41 seconds over the Saudi, who is now first with an advantage of 29 seconds.

In a stage known as a 'half-marathon', as the drivers' vehicles could only be repaired for two hours after finishing, Sainz finished sixth, two positions behind Nasser Al-Attiyah, the reigning Dakar champion and who, after a bad first stage, continues to climb the general standings and is now fifth, 10 minutes and 49 seconds behind the leader.

This third stage, the first without clear dominance by Audi, covered 733 kilometres, 438 of them timed, between the Saudi towns of Ad Duwadimi and Al Samiya, in one of the longest days of the Dakar and the most varied of the rally, as a first section of dunes gave way to a terrain of stones and a third of gravel.

Motorcycle

The bikes started marked by the retirement of the British Sam Sunderland, two-time winner of the Dakar, due to a mechanical problem, Pablo Quintanilla set a time of 4 hours, 37 minutes and 42 seconds, one minute and 38 seconds less than the Castellón Barreda, who fought until the end during the day on Monday.

The German Sebastian Bühler also had to abandon the race, who suffered a fall at kilometre 360 of the special and had to be evacuated by helicopter to hospital with lower back pain, although fortunately he got on conscious and mobile.

Quintanilla, Barreda and the Argentinian Kevin Benavides, signed a new podium with a Hispanic signature, as already happened this past Sunday, when it was the Chileans Quintanilla, Nacho Cornejo and the Argentine Luciano Benavides, Kevin's younger brother.

In fact, the five Hispanics remain in the top ten and are still in the fight for the general classification. However, Branch, who finished fifth, remains first in that classification, 4 minutes and 11 seconds ahead of Chile's Nacho Cornejo and 5 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of American Ricky Brabec in third.

Thus, Quintanilla is fourth in the table at just over eleven minutes, behind him is Kevin, sixth at more than 21 minutes, and Barreda, with just over 25 minutes difference. Finally, ninth lies the youngest of the Benavids, exactly 28 minutes behind the American.

Up to ten riders are thirty minutes behind the leader in the motorcycle category, possibly the most irregular of the entire race, as it has had four different winners

  • Rally Dakar