Dakar Rally 2024 Stage 5 Update

Admin · January 10, 2024

Ross Branch awaits his start of the Dakar Rally Stage 5. (MCH Photography/)

An emotional roller coaster: This is Dakar Rally even before Stage 1. The prologue is 27 kilometers (17 miles) of dust and fast tracks that can affect the first week if not the whole Dakar. The rule of the desert is ruthless; no matter how good you are at navigating, opening the track penalizes, so the prologue represents the first piece of a puzzle. The bigger picture is the next 13 days of racing plus the rest day in Riyadh on January 13; each stage counts and strategy becomes crucial from the very first kilometer.

That’s all easy to say yet difficult to do because the front-runners, called Rally GP riders, take the start every three minutes, so once they are out there, they are completely alone in the open desert. It is difficult to know how much they should push in order to have a good position for the following day without losing too much time. This creates a tricky elastic effect in the rankings.

Ready for True Adventure

As the colorful Dakar caravan reaches the Empty Quarter on Stage 5, the race starts to get serious. Five really tough stages have shown a taste of what’s ahead of the field, but the format of the race is so unpredictable that anything can happen to reshuffle the cards.

Looking at the standing, Ross Branch tops the overall. He has led the race except for one day, giving way to Monster Energy Honda Nacho Cornejo on SS4. Considered the underdog, Branch just keeps on smiling.

“It’s nice to be back in the lead, but it’s going to be a long rally, so we are not worried by the classification and we continue to approach the race day by day,” the Hero racer confessed. “The key? Stage 1 was really good for me: 300 kilometers [186 miles] of massive rocks, but I was able to make the most of it. Mason Klein was opening while I started 18th. I met Tosha (Schareina) on the way who had crashed and injured his arm. I waited with him till the arrival of the helicopter. I got the time back, but this is the spirit of Dakar; you have to stop when someone is injured. This is the No. 1 rule everywhere, but a must in the desert. We are in a good position. The team has worked hard to give us a competitive bike and it is a great satisfaction.”

Related: Honda’s American Dakar Duo Starts Strong

Ross Branch regained the overall lead after Stage 5. (MCH Photography/)

Leader on Stage 4 and currently second overall, back just 1 minute, 14 seconds after more than 19 hours of the race covered so far, Monster Energy Honda’s Nacho Cornejo looks determined, but relaxed. “After winning Stage 4,” he said, “I opened on Stage 5—on a stage with 100 percent dunes. A taste of the 48-hour chrono in the Empty Quarter is ahead of us. I’m confident. The first stages were crucial because they were very tough so it was important not to make mistakes and this helped us a lot.”

Nacho is not surprised by Branch’s performance. “Ross is fast and solid. We shouldn’t underestimate the KTM riders as well. Kevin Benavides is fifth, 21 minutes, 17 seconds from the lead. He made some mistakes at the beginning and this explains the delay, but he has all my respect. The fight is still open.”

Nacho Cornejo sits in second after Stage 5, just 1 minute, 14 seconds behind Branch. (MCH Photography/)

Ricky Brabec is third overall, 3 minutes, 47 seconds from the lead. “The first five days have been good,” he said, “but we have seven more. Our approach doesn’t change. We face it day by day, but of course the pace is so fast that you need to push hard every day. I’m having fun with the team being in front.”

The Californian racer explains the new 48-hour chrono stage: “We have two days ahead of us in the desert: 600 kilometers [373 miles] of dunes to cover in 48 hours without assistance from the team. I think we will ride together as far as we can. Sleep under the stars and then finish on the 12th. It will be a game because there will be more options for bivouacs; I think it would be strange to figure out where the other riders are. It’s an interesting format that brings back the feeling of adventure.”

Skyler Howes added: “I like this new format because it brings back the original spirit of the Dakar when you stopped when the sun goes down and you jump on your bike at the sunrise and you ride the whole day.”

Ricky Brabec is third overall after Stage 5. (MCH Photography/)

The format ahead is interesting as all the riders will have to stop in one of eight “breaking points” in the middle of the desert to spend the night. There won’t be any bivouac. As in the old times, the helicopters will drop sleeping bags, water, and food rations. Racers will sleep under the stars to continue the special stage and then finally reach the plane that will fly them to Riyadh for the rest day. The support crews will drive the 800 kilometers [497 miles] from Shubaytah to the capital to meet the riders.

Overall Ranking After Stage 5

Looking at the overall standing on Stage 5, Hero Motorsports’ Ross Branch hangs onto a 1-minute, 14-second lead. Three Hondas are in the top five with Cornejo second, Brabec third, and Adrien Van Beveren fourth. Multiple Dakar winner Toby Price (KTM) lies in P8 at 31 minutes, 36 seconds back; Joan Barreda (Hero) 12th. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla won Stage 5 and got into a good position for the 48-hour chrono that will see the Rally GP riders taking the start in reverse order.

Pablo Quintanilla took the win on Stage 5. (MCH Photography/)