The Dakar Rally showed all its cruelty in a tough second stage that drove the riders crazy

Motorcycles are the first to arrive in every field. Of course, they’re also the first to leave each day when the sun doesn’t even threaten to rise above the horizon. And in each of them who arrived at the bivouac, the detail of the beaten rims, and the “bitten” tires on the heels, showed the hardness and cruelty of the second stage of the Dakar 2023running in Saudi Arabia.

In the field of AlUla, in front of an incredibly reddish scenery, with mountain ranges of the same hue, the images repeated themselves. After removing the helmets, the faces said it all. No one expected such a difficult stage as the one that united the cities of Yanbu, on the shores of the Red Sea, and Al-Ula, already in the center of the country.

Rocky paths, dry rivers, large stones and the danger of hitting any natural obstacle they dictated the pace of the stage which took place over a course of 590 kilometres. There were six hours of intense activity on that surface, something unusual for a stage of the Dakar.

“I didn’t expect such a thing. It was really difficult. Lots of stones so we hit the bikes permanently. And in the end treacherous paths, inviting you to fall”stressed out Kevin Benavides (KTM), the best Argentine among motorcycles, finishing 8th in the stage, but climbing to 4th place in the general classification, ridden by Mason Klein (KTM).

Even with edge hit and cover eatenhis brother, Luciano Benavides, who arrived with the Husqvarna (12th in the stage and 14th overall). Behind the beat-up bikes also appeared Frank Caimi (hero) and of Diego Piani (Rieju), Chilecito’s riojan that performs so well.

In the quads, the Argentina-France duel installed in the World Cup has definitely made its place in the lightweight discipline. Alexander Giraud stays ahead, after winning the stage, while Lobos’ Buenos Aires rider Manu Andujar maintains excellent pace to fight up front.

“I broke a chain at the end and there it took 7 minutes to fix, which was the time that separated me from Giraud,” he said clarion Andujar, who is now at 7m28, has been left behind as the Frenchman’s escort.

Despite the occasional knock, Pablo Copetti finished second on the stage, followed by Francisco Moreno and then Andujar.

By car, Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyahafter the drawbacks of the first meters of the race, he prevailed in the stage, which allowed him to cut the difference in height established by Charles Sainzwith the Audi hybrid, since they are separated by only 2m12.

The best national representative was the young man Juan Cruz Yacopini, who finished ninth. The rest, with the problems that the majority added, such as breakage or punctured tires: Orly Newfoundland was 36th, and Sebastian Halpern it stood at 38°.

Among UTVs, david zille he was 9th in his category, while Jeremías González Ferioli was third in the stage between Side by Side. Behind came Juan Manuel Silva, who finished 19th.

The third stage will start at dawn in Argentina. At 7 local time (6 more than our fathers), the caravan will head from AlUla to Ha’il, another classic of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia, for a total distance of 669 kilometres, of which 447 will be special stages.

Al-Ula. Saudi Arabia. Special for Clarion.