Stage 11, starting from Al Ula to Yenbu, was shortened by fifty kilometres due to weather conditions. The longest stage of 511km, featuring 100km of dunes was concluded with a new winner at the end of the stage. At P1 today was the Red Bull KTM factory rider Sam Sunderland, with a timing of 04:35:12 hours. Following him was Team Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla, with a difference of 02:40 minutes and at P3 was Kevin Benavides from Monster Energy Honda, with a difference of 06:24 minutes.
Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec, the winner of Stage 10, was the first rider to start in stage 11. Following him were his teammates Kevin Benavides and Joan Barreda Bort who had a podium finish in yesterday’s stage. At the 41km mark, we saw JBB in the lead, several seconds ahead of teammates Benavides and Brabec, which continued till the 127km mark. After the 215km mark, Monster Energy Honda’s Joan Barreda Bort landed himself in trouble as he missed the refuelling point and ran out of gas post the 267km mark. Red Bull KTM Factory’s Sam Sunderland, who was seen going wheel-to-wheel with Benavides, was initially at P3, but after JBB’s mishap, snatched the lead post the 306km mark. After JBB ran out of petrol, he requested a medical examination and was airlifted.
Stage 11, the longest stage of the 43rd edition of the Dakar, concluded with the British KTM rider’s first podium finish since 2019. However, Team Monster Energy Honda, dominant in the past two stages, still leads the overall rankings with Benavides at P1 and Brabec at P3, though JBB ended up in trouble due to his mistake.
Stay tuned for updates on stage twelve, which goes from Yanbu to Jeddah, a 452km total distance including a 225km special.
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