RALLY DAKAR 2023

Mason Klein wins his first stage and already leads the Dakar 2023 with Joan Barreda third

The young American Mason Klein has taken his first stage victory in the Dakar, rising to the lead in the general classification of the Dakar 2023 ahead of the Australian Toby Price and the Spanish Joan Barreda, who has started very solid on a good day for the Spanish riders, with Lorenzo Santolino in the top 10 of the stage.

It has been a day with many focuses on future talents for the Dakar. South African rookie Michael Docherty was the protagonist at the start by setting the best time in the first three waypoints of the day, with the Spanish Tosha Schareina very close in the first two. Already from the second position Daniel Sanders has been placed very close, who from WP4 has become the great reference, surpassing Docherty.

Ahead, Ricky Brabec was trying to mitigate the complications of opening the track and it didn't take long for him to be caught by Kevin Benavides and Mason Klein; Forming behind another chasing trio with Toby Price, Joan Barreda and Sanders himself. This trio was gradually getting closer to the leader... until Klein decided to embark on the adventure of opening the track.

Not only has he begun to put time behind those behind, but he has released Brabec and Kevin Benavides to go completely alone on the adventure. A risky decision that has been paying off, since from being almost six minutes from the lead of the stage in WP6, he has gradually cut back until he is less than a minute behind Sanders at the ninth waypoint, the last before goal.

Michael Docherty shone during the first half of the stage(image above)

To his own, Mason Klein has completed the 430 timed kilometers between Sea Camp and Al'Ula in 5 hours, 21 minutes and 4 seconds; flying in such a way that, despite being sanctioned with two minutes, he has preserved the stage victory with more than a minute over the Heroes of Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch, who slipped second and fourth of the day with Skyler Howes between them.

The fifth position of the day was left by Toby Price, who had remained in the wake of a Daniel Sanders who lost a lot of time in the last section and dropped to ninth position of the day. Kevin Benavides had been sixth, but a one-minute penalty has relegated him to eighth position, with Joan Barreda inheriting sixth place and Lorenzo Santolino seventh.

The top 10 have been completed by Daniel Sanders and Matthias Walkner; while finally Tosha Schareina finished 18th, just seven minutes behind Michael Docherty, who had a long stage in which none of the big favorites had any major problems. For her part, Joan Pedrero remains firmly in command of the Original category.

by SWINXY