Stage 13 of Dakar 2023 saw Sebastien Loeb win for the sixth time in a row while KTM’s Kevin Benavides took the penultimate stage of Dakar 2023 to set up a final-day showdown with teammate Toby Price for the overall victory.
Today’s stage saw competitors cover a total of 675 kilometres from Shaybah to Al-Hofuf which included a 154km long special stage across the desert sands of Saudi Arabia.
Bikes
At the end of today’s special stage, it was Husqvarana’s Luciano Benavides who was the fastest across the line. However, a 1 minute time penalty demoted Luciano to 3rd overall and allowed his brother KTM rider Kevin Benavides, to claim his first stage win of Dakar 2023.
Kevin Benavides had stopped at the start of the stage to help his teammate Mattias Walkner after the Austrian crashed 55 kilometres into the stage and had to be airlifted to the hospital, complaining of back pain. Benavides was awarded back the time he lost which in turn allowed him to finish the stage in 2 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds.
Benavides finished the stage 27 seconds ahead of HT Rally Raid Husqvarna’s Michael Docherty with his brother claiming the final podium spot finishing 57 seconds adrift.
Hero’s riders had another good day in the saddle with Ross Branch the best of the lot in 10th, 4 minutes and 51 seconds behind KTM’s Benavides. Sebastian Buhler finished the stage in 12th, 5 minutes and 7 seconds behind the leader.
Franco Caimi ended the stage in 13th, 7 minutes and 39 seconds adrift of his fellow countryman. Sherco’s Lorenzo Santolino ended stage 13 in 18th place with the Spanis rider ending the day, 10 minutes and 3 seconds behind Benavides.
Today’s results mean that KTM’s Australian rider Toby Price maintained his grip atop the bikes standings. Price leads Kevin Benavides by just 12 seconds with Husqvarna’s Skyler Howes of the handlebar moustache in 3rd overall, 1 minute and 31 seconds behind Price.
Sherco’s Lorenzo Santolino climbed his way into the top 10 and now sits 9th overall, 1 hour, 10 minutes and 29 seconds behind Price. Hero’s Franco Caimi is 1 place behind him in 10th overall – 1 hour, 30 minutes and 12 seconds behind Price.
Sebastian Buhler is now 22nd overall, with the German rider 4 hours and 11 minutes behind the leader while two-time Dakar 2023 stage winner Ross Branch is 6 hours, 51 minutes and 6 seconds behind Price in 26th place.
Tomorrow will be an absolute battle in the bikes category with Daka rules stating that riders will head out in the reverse order of the general standings. This means that KTM teammates Benavides and Price will be slugging it out as the last two riders out of the starting zone while Howes will be hoping either of them makes a mistake over the 136km special stage that will be contested along the 417km long journey to the race’s end at Dammam on the Persian Gulf.
Cars
It was deja vu all over again as Sebastien Loeb once again dominated the sands of Saudi Arabia. The French WRC legend took an unprecedented 6th stage win in a row. His total stage win tally for this year is now 7, a feat last achieved by Carlos Sainz in 2011, when the Dakar was held in South America.
Loeb finished today’s special stage in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 17 seconds with his great rival and overall stage winner Nasser Al-Attiyah coming home in second, 5 minutes and 28 seconds adrift of the Frenchman. Mattias Ekstrom collected yet another podium for Audi as he ended up in 3rd, 6 minutes and 31 seconds behind Loeb.
All eyes will be on Nasser Al-Attiyah in tomorrow’s final stage as all the Qatari driver has to do is cruise home to victory in Dammam with his lead over Loeb now at 1 hour, 21 minutes and 42 seconds. Brazil’s Lucas Moraes is third overall, 1 hour, 35 minutes and 50 seconds behind Al-Attiyah.
Thoughts About Dakar 2023 Stage 13
The 13th and penultimate stage of Dakar 2023 saw Sebastian Loeb win a stage for an unprecedented 6th time in a row. In the bikes category, Kevin Benavides won to set up a very intriguing final-day clash with his teammate, Australia’s Toby Price with just 12 seconds separating the pair.
While only an impossible nightmare will rip off Nasser Al-Attiyah’s grip on the winner’s trophy, Sebastian Loeb will be hoping to steal some of the glory from his Qatari rival in Dammam by claiming an unprecedented 8th stage win at a Dakar rally tomorrow.
Keyword: Dakar 2023 Stage 13 Results: 6 In A Row For Loeb As Kevin Benavides Wins To Setup Final Clash With Price