Kevin Benavides takes the lead
After his crash yesterday, Ross Branch did a lot more than just get back on the bike - he won the stage, his first victory for the Hero Motorsports team. Less than a minute behind the winner, Luciano Benavides placed his Husqvarna Factory Racing machine just ahead of his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing mounted brother. A third place that allows Kevin to take the ADDC lead overall. Monster Energy Honda, leader in the constructors' rankings since the Dakar, also had a good day. Brabec and Cornejo are on the podium in the provisional overall standings and Quintanilla is 5th position, 3 bikes in the Top 5. Sunderland (GasGas Factory Racing) keeps his 4th place overall. Walkner is the big loser of the day. The reigning World Champion and winner of the 2021 ADDC drops to 10th position at 11'10. But the gaps are small in the bikes and nothing has been yet decided. In Rally 2, Bradley Cox went out of the stage after injuring his knee. Mason Klein lost his BAS World KTM Racing teammate but also his closest rival and is now ahead of Romain Dumontier (HT Rally Husqvarna Racing) by less than 5'. Paolo Lucci (Solarys Racing) is 20' behind the leader, just ahead of Charan Moore (HT Rally Husqvarna Racing) and Konrad Dabrowski (Duust Rally Team). These 5 Rally 2s are grouped between 13th and 19th place overall. In the Quad class, ADDC 2021 winner Ahli Abdulaziz remains in control. Rodolfo Guillioli won today but Juraj Varga kept his 2nd place in the provisional standings.
Al Attyiah back in the hunt
After their respective mechanical setbacks yesterday, both Al Attyiah and Loeb have written off their chances of winning the ADDC. Every place gained on an Abu Dhabi stage will count when it comes time to totting up the points in two days’ time. The Toyota Gazoo Racing team took 5 points for the day's victory, while the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team took 4 points for 2nd place. In the provisional standings, Al Attyiah-Baumel have 90 points against 88 points for Loeb-Lurquin. Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive) keeps his 3rd place in the W2RC provisional standings by gaining 3 points, for a total of 59. In T3, the day’s podium is identical to that of the provisional W2RC. Dakar winner 'Chaleco' Lopez (South Racing Can-Am) now has 99 points, Cristina Gutierrez has 79 points and her Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team teammate 68 points. In T4, Marek Goczal (Cobant Energylandia), 2nd in the W2RC provisional standings, takes advantage of his second special stage victory on the ADDC to move closer to Dakar winner Austin Jones (South Racing Can-Am). The American pockets 2 points for his 4th place on the day, bringing his total to 89 points. The Pole with 5 points climbs to 78 points. Rokas Baciuska (South Racing Can-Am), 3rd in the W2RC, keeps his place with 75 points. Michal Goczal (Cobant Energylandia), 4th in the provisional W2RC rankings, brings his total to 62 points. Lucas Del Rio, still 7th in the W2RC, moves up to 12 points. In the trucks, Martin Macik (MM Technology) was trapped in the dunes for more than an hour. Kees Koolen (Project 2030) won the day but the Big Shock Racing boss' lead in the W2RC provisional standings remains substantial.
