The Dakar Rally today reached the halfway point with the dispute of the fifth stage. The second part of the marathon stage proved to be a particularly tactical affair with riders seeking to secure favorable attacking positions for the coming days. Ricky Brabec still holds the top spot in the general standings and Benavides is well-positioned to tackle the second part of the rally.
American Ricky Brabec arrives at the rest day of the Dakar in Arequipa, as race leader. Today the Monster Energy Honda Team rider handled the stage with intelligence after having taken command at the top of the general rankings yesterday.
The start of this fifth stage commenced after a 161-kilometre link section from the Moquegua camp and featured a mass line start with waves of ten riders starting together. The latter part of the special saw competitors face the dunes of Illo with 65% off-piste before a further 345 kilometres of timed special.
Ricky Brabec holds the first position of the rally, with 16:51’34
2019 Dakar Rally – Provisional Overall Standings After Stage 5
1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 16:51:34
2. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 16:52:33
3. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 16:54:26
4. Toby Price (KTM) 16:54:55
5. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 16:58:10