After a much-needed rest day, Monday’s Stage 9 took the Dakar Rally competitors to the southeast quarter of Saudi Arabia. At the very start of the stage Joan Barreda and Carlos Sainz both sustained some injuries. Barreda crashed in the dunes and had to be airlifted to a local hospital.
In the bike class 13 seconds separate the overall riders. Skyler Howes who still sits up front finished third. Toby Price helped close the gap slightly with a second-place finish in Stage 9. The winner of the day was Luciano Benavides who posted the fastest stage times.
There was another new winner in the T3 class. David Zille claimed a victory in Stage 9. Mitch Guthrie finished 3rd and Guillaume De Mevius took second moving him to the overall lead.
In the car class, Sebastien Loeb came away with another stage win. Nasser Al-Attiyah wasn’t able to do any better than 8th, but still maintains the overall lead in the rankings.
