Tosha Schareina claimed victory in Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally. The overall classification remains extremely close, as Daniel Sanders moved into the lead after finishing second on the stage, overtaking Luciano Benavides in the standings.
Stage nine saw the riders depart Wadi Ad-Dawasir and head towards the marathon bivouac via a demanding route dominated by sand. The stage consisted of a long selective section featuring a mix of fast off-piste tracks, technical canyon crossings and extensive dune sectors later in the day, where navigation, endurance and mechanical management proved decisive.
Starting the stage second on the road, Sanders was eager to catch his teammate Benavides ahead of him. However, both KTM riders ran into trouble around kilometer 34 after missing a difficult roadbook note, immediately losing time to the chasing group. From that point onward, they rode together to the finish, with Sanders managing his pace carefully and avoiding damage to his KTM 450 RALLY. His second-place finish, combined with nearly five minutes of bonus time, extended Sanders’ lead in the overall standings to 6 minutes and 24 seconds.
Daniel Sanders:
“It wasn’t a bad stage for me today, but it’s obviously frustrating to lose so much time so early. At the start I checked the roadbook and already saw it was going to be chaotic, with a lot of rhythm changes in a new area. There was one tricky note that we missed, and when Luciano went the wrong way, I was stuck in the dust, which cost us time. When Ricky arrived, we understood the mistake, but by then a lot of time was already lost. After that it was about managing the stage and looking ahead to tomorrow, with more dunes to come. The rest of the stage was fairly straightforward, with a fast finish and rough dunes. In the rocky sections I took it easy to avoid damage. All in all, I’m happy to be here and ready to push again tomorrow.”
Benavides was the first rider on the stage and therefore also the first to encounter the difficult roadbook note. As a result, he lost approximately nine minutes early on to the stage leader. The Argentinian fought back strongly, regaining several minutes and climbing from 35th position at kilometer 84 to ninth at the finish. Although this result saw him drop from first to third overall, Benavides will benefit from a favorable starting position for Stage 10 on Wednesday.
Luciano Benavides:
“Today wasn’t my best day. There was a tricky note in the roadbook and I was the first one to arrive there. I made a mistake and then Daniel made the same mistake. I don’t think anyone really got it right there. By the time we corrected it, I had already lost around nine minutes. From that point on, it was mainly about reaching the finish. We rode in a group of four riders, which wasn’t easy, but starting further back tomorrow could actually be an advantage. The bike is fine. There’s a small cut in the rear tire, but nothing serious, so everything is okay.”
Belgian rider Jerome Martiny finished the stage in 28th position, while Ian Olthof crossed the line in 48th.
After nine stages, Daniel Sanders leads the Dakar Rally with a margin of 6 minutes and 24 seconds over Ricky Brabec. Luciano Benavides sits third overall, just over seven minutes behind the leader.
Click the link below for the Stage 9 results:
https://trackingdakar.com/nl/stage-9/bikes/waypoints/?show-top=off
Click the link below for the overall standings:
https://trackingdakar.com/nl/stage-9/bikes/standings/
