The 2024 Dakar Rally is well underway. With heroes emerging and dreams being broken, the drivers have reached their well-earned rest day. Join Off Road Xtreme as we look at all of the highlighted action from Saudi Arabia in the first half of the 2024 Dakar Rally.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Prologue

Soft sand and blistering paces were the name of the game on day one. With a relatively short run of 16.7 miles and every competitor looking for an early win, it was a hard day of racing. Here are the early leaders of the 2024 Dakar Rally.

Bikes

The Team Monster Energy Honda of Tosha Schreiner was the fastest of the day, earning the first pick at the starting order for Stage 1. As one of the newest members of the team, it was a great showing for Schreiner. The times were tight though and all of the top 10 riders were within one minute of each other.

In that top 10 was a lone U.S. rider, Mason Klien. Mason’s journey to the 2024 Dakar Rally was tough before the racing even started. With a brand-new bike stuck in customs, he was severely limited on testing time but still managed 10th on the day.

Cars

Team Audi was ready for redemption after last year’s rough Dakar Rally. That is exactly what Mattias Ekstrom went for, successfully ripping a First-Place finish in the prologue. Only time will tell how the Audis fair on the longer stages where they struggled last year though.

Running 23 seconds behind Ekstrom was Seth Quintero. Expectations are high for Seth in his first year with Toyota Gazoo Racing and he seems up to the challenge so far. Veteran driver Sebastien Loeb rounded out the top three, giving Red Bull-sponsored cars a clean sweep of the podium.

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

The 19-year-old Eryk Goczal was the winner of the day. Just behind him was another Team Energylandia member, Eryk’s uncle Michal Goczal. Claiming the top two spots means the team is dialed in and should be fun to watch throughout the rally.

Mitch Guthrie was only 41 seconds off the pace in the prologue. Last year he showed some real speed during the later stages. With this solid start, he should be in a good place for this year’s rally.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 1

Despite rough and rocky terrain, Stage 1 would still bring speed, but at the cost of flats. This was Dakar’s first visit to this area and the racers would need to be on top of their navigation to succeed.

Bikes

Stage 1 claimed several riders, ending the rally far too early for several top contenders. Ross Branch however navigated the tough course the fastest and claimed the stage win. Stopping to aid a downed rider, Branch was granted the lost time back and didn’t waste any of it.

Ricky Brabec brought his Monter Energy Honda in with the next quickest time. Choosing to lead the field out for Stage 1 is a risky decision, the bonus time is rarely worth navigating the untouched course. Despite that, Mason Klien made the most of his choice to lead the field and finished third on the day.

Cars

Flats were the name of the game on Stage 1, some of the biggest names fell victim to multiple tire failures. Guillaume De Mevius was able to find the right balance of speed and stamina though. In his first Dakar, racing in the top class of cars, he showed why he earned the seat in the Overdrive Hilux, winning the first stage.

Carlos Sainz was the top Audi and second overall to finish the stage, coming in just behind the leader. The early success in the prologue was not repeated for Loeb and Quintero who would wind up in 19^th and 20^th on the day.

 

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

If you thought starting the rally off with your team in one and two was impressive, Team Energylandia and the Goczal family said “Hold my beer and watch this” on day two. The Team swept the podium for the stage with Eryk leading the charge. Michal and Markel claiming the next two spots.

Another trio was right behind them though. The Red Bull Team had three drivers, all less than 15 minutes behind. Austin Jones grabbed Fourth on the day with Christina Gutierrez next in line. Mitch Guthrie who took Stage 1 victory last year rounded out the Red Bull charge.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 2

Leaving the rocks behind would be a chance to show some speed. Stage 2 was also the first chance for racers to show off their dune surfing skills.

Bikes

Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo set the fastest time on Stage 2. Branch finished the stage in 11th, but was quick enough to maintain his top overall position. Ricky Brabec was the top U.S. finisher on the day in Fifth, run was enough to move him up in the overall standings to Third.

Mason Klien’s hopes at the championship all but died on stage 2. A busted oil line took hours to repair in the field and dropped him down in the overall standings. After a bit of a rough start, Skylar Howes had a solid run finishing 8^th on the day.

Cars

A gap of less than 30 seconds separated stage winner Peterhansel and Loeb. The Audi was able to secure First but Loeb made up time in the overall standings, chasing down Sainz in the standings.

Third, on the day went to Seth Quintero. His Toyota was fast but had to settle in behind traffic during a section keeping him from moving up farther.

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

The Goczal domination continued on stage 2. Eryk grabbed his third stage win with Micahl right behind him. It was starting to look like the team would take every stage.

Finding his rhythm, Mitch Guthrie finished the day in Third, pushing him up in the overall standings to keep the Goczal’s from running the top three in the 2024 Dakar Rally. Jones was also on a solid pace for this stage finishing 11th and staying in the hunt.

Wild Action At The 2024 Dakar Rally: Mid Race Recap

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 3

Welcome to the Marathons. Day four of racing was a real test of endurance for the competitors. With limited repair time at the end of the stage, everyone needed to take care in the dunes to keep their rigs in race condition.

Bikes

Another hard day took its toll on the riders, with more names added to the retired list. Despite that the defending champ, Benavides was able to fight through the stage and finish on top. Behind him though was a trio of Monster Energy Hondas.

Leading that pack of Hondas was Brabec, finishing just a minute behind the leader with Howes in Fourth. Branch would still lead the overall, but the Hondas were on his heels cutting his lead down after Stage 3.

Cars

Punctures and repairs on Stage 3 created a leapfrog of leaders throughout the day. Loeb was one of those to fall to multiple flats, finishing off the pace on the day and moving him out of the top 3 overall. Brazilian Lucas Moraes was able to avoid the drama though and finished first on the stage.

After a great start, Ekstrom hadn’t been able to bring in another stage top three, but he showed he was still in the hunt on day four, finishing second and bringing him to 3rd overall. Al Rajhi’s Third-Place finish on the day was enough to jump him into the overall lead ahead of Sainz.

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

Stage 3 saw a new stage winner in Guthrie, breaking Eryk’s streak. Eryk was able to keep pace though and his first stage finish out of the lead was still good enough for Second. Mikal Goczal ran into a problem on track costing him enough time to all but take him out of contention for an overall win.

Jones had another solid top-10 stage and was still lurking in 6th overall at the end of the day. The other top contender in a Red Bull car, Gutierrez was sitting just off the podium for both the day and in 4th overall.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 4

Starting deep in the heart of Saudi Arabia Stage 4 would be the true test of how the teams dealt with the limited repair time of the marathon stage. Many rigs were in rough shape but would have to push on regardless.

Bikes

Overall leader Ross Branch had a rough stage, laying down the bike, twice, he was able to avoid losing too much time though, and finished 4th. For the second time, Cornejo was the top finisher, with this stage win he leapt into 1st overall.

Brabec continued his consistently strong finishes on day five. Finishing Second on the stage gave him the chance to make up time on Branch and closed the gap to under a minute. Sitting in Third overall, Brabec is looking like the best hope for a U.S. win in the 2024 Dakar Rally.

Cars

Winning the 2024 Dakar Rally will be about consistently finishing well on each stage. Loeb has not been able to keep that consistency, but for every off-pace day, he has made it up with a blistering run the next. Loeb was able to take the Stage 4 win and shot back up in the overall standings.

If consistency is king, then Al Rajhi is wearing the crown at this year’s Dakar. Finishing Second on the stage kept him in the overall lead by a growing margin. Sainz was still close though and only four and a half minutes back when all the times were added up.

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

Eryk Goczal continued his dominance on Stage 4, finishing first ahead of his uncle Mikal. With another stage win, he stacked up the cushion for his overall lead.

Mitch Guthrie was not on the same pace for day 5, finishing 20 minutes behind the leader he stayed in Third overall, but the gap widened to 36 minutes. Behind Guthrie in the overall, Austin Jones was looking at just over an hour to make up after jumping ahead of Gutierrez who was charged with a 15-minute penalty on the stage.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 5

A 5-hour drive just to reach the starting line meant fatigue would be a real issue for day 6. Despite that, the competitors would have to be on their game for the stage. With the full special in the dunes, even small mistakes proved costly.

Bikes

For the bikes, it was a story of starting order for Stage 5. Stage 4 winners would have no tracks to follow on the endless dunes and fell back on time quickly to the later starters. Quintanilla would take the day, moving him into 6^th overall.

Branch was able to make up some time on the stage and would regain the overall lead after finishing 6^th on the day. Brabec, despite a slower day, maintained 3^rd overall. Less than 4 minutes separates the three leaders.

Cars

If one driver has proven his ability in the dunes, it’s Nasser Al-Attiyah. Dominating the stage, he jumped into 2nd overall. With all the shuffling going on in the standing, one name has stayed on top, Al Rajhi. Maintaining a 9-minute overall lead by the end of the day, he has shown what the home-field advantage can bring.

Unfortunately for Seth Quintero, a 20-hour penalty would end his hopes for an overall win in the 2024 Dakar Rally. Hitting a rock and severely damaging his rig, he would still be in the race after some major work, but not in contention on time. His stated goal is to go out, have fun, and score points for the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) Series championship

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

Austin Jones found his stride on day 6, finishing 2nd on the stage behind the Can-Am of Lopez. Guthrie would see another top-10 finish in this stage which was good to keep his 3rd overall. Eryk kept up his podium finishes for another day ending it in 3rd. With the new 48-hour chrono stage looming, the overall standing stayed the same from the previous day at the top.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Stage 6A and B

The first-ever 48-hour Chrono Stage for Dakar would be a true test for all the competitors. Driving until the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. was the name of the game. Then it’s roughing it for the night and back to the endless dunes for the second half of the next day.

Bikes

It wasn’t long before the harsh stage started to claim victims, Skylar Howes was one of those. Unable to repair his bike after a breakdown, Howes was forced to retire, and his bike was air-lifted out of the dunes. Another challenge for the day was fuel. Several riders ran out with the soft sand driving up consumption and everyone trying to push hard against the clock.

Despite losing two team riders, The Monster Energy bikes of Van Beveren and Brabec were able to finish on the podium for the stage. This put The U.S. rider, Brabec, in the overall lead and Van Beveren in Third.

Cars

It wasn’t just the bikes that would struggle in the empty quarter. Overall leader Al Rajhi would suffer a big crash early into the stage, ending his hopes of a title. Stage 5 winner Nasser Al-Attiyah would also suffer a blow with a breakdown, also removing him from the top running.

With troubles for the front runners, Team Audi was quick to take advantage. Carlos Sainz and Ekstrom both finishing strong on the marathon stage shot them up to one and two overall. Loeb’s race has been one of peaks and valleys, Stage 6 was another peak, putting him third overall.

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

The familiar name of Eryk Goczal was at the top of the leaderboard again in Stage 6. Now with five stage wins on the rally, he was not showing any sign of letting up.

Team Red Bull finished the stage very much still in the hunt though. Guthrie would finish in Second overall but over an hour down to Eryk. Gutierrez had a strong showing in the empty quarter and pushed up to take Third place overall.

Shake Up In The Lightweights

There was some breaking news from Dakar over the break. The dominant performance by Eryk Goczal would not last. During a tech inspection, two of the team Energylandia cars were found to have illegal clutches. This resulted in disqualification and shook up the leaderboards in the category.

2024 Dakar Rally Recap: Standings After Stage 6

Lightweight Challenger (T3)

• 1^st Guthrie
• 2^nd Gutierrez +24:16
• 3^rd Lopez +24:34

Cars

• 1^st Sainz
• 2nd Ekstrom +20:21
• 3^rd Loeb 39:31

Bikes

• 1^st Brabec
• 2^nd Branch +0:51
• 3^rd Van Beveren +9:21

Stay tuned to Off Road Xtreme for more updates from Saudi Arabia and the 2024 Dakar Rally. Every day is a new stage and a new opportunity for competitors to make or break the challenge.