Images by Rally Zone
KTM’s Sam Sunderland has led home the Monster Energy Honda duo of Jose Ignacio and Kevin Benavides in Stage Four of the 2020 Dakar Rally, with Stage 2 winner Ross Branch fourth, and Paulo Goncalves completing the top five.
Previous stage winner Ricky Brabec had to settle for seventh, 11-seconds faster than defending champion Toby Price, but it was enough for Brabec to retain his overall lead, while Price moved up the standings into fourth – 12min-9s off the combined lead.
Stage Four of the Dakar Rally offered a long day in the saddle for riders, who needed to complete a total of 672 kilomtres, including a 453-kilometre timed special, offering a mix of sandy pistes and travel tracks, traveling from Neom through to Al-Ula.
Following the GPS and waypoint issues of the previous stage, Stage Four also saw the the Top-10 separated by just five-minutes, however the combined leaderboard continues to stretch out.
Aussie Rodney Faggotter finished Stage Four in 18th position on his Yamaha Motor Australia mount, 13min-4s off the leader, moving into 17th in the standings.
The overall standings now see Ricky Brabec leading Kevin Benavides by 2min-30s, while a more distant Jose Ignacio is third making a Monster Energy Honda Team 1-2-3. Toby Price and Sam Sunderland complete the top five, as the leading KTM riders, while Pablo Quintanilla is top Husqvarna pilot in sixth.
Provisional Stage 4 Results – Dakar Rally 2020
Source: MCNews.com.au