Benavides wins third stage after sanctions imposed on Quintanilla and Barreda

Chilean pilot Pablo Quintanilla had led an endless stage of up to 733 kilometers of sand dunes, dirt and stones; On this stage, the South American had pushed himself to stand out from the pack and overtake Spaniard Joan Barreda, who finished second. He will target the motorcycle general after a penalty sent him through the table on Sunday.

However, two radars caught Barreda, who received a 12-minute penalty for speeding 85 and 98 km/h in two sections where he had to go at 30 km/h, and Quintanilla, who received a 6-minute speeding penalty. Passing at a speed of 84 km/h in a 30 km/h zone.

The eldest of the Benavides, the third, In this way, it ranked first, even though it did not change. General following Botswana Ross BranchHe was also penalized with one minute.

Besides penalties, the stage was marked as follows:from the start due to the withdrawal of Englishman Sam SunderlanDue to a mechanical problem, the two-time Dakar winner d was leading with an advantage of more than a minute after the first kilometer by the very young pilot Mason Klein, who also had problems with his motorcycle.

The German pilot also had to leave the race Sebastian BuhlerThe person who fell at the 360th kilometer of the special race and had to be taken to the hospital by helicopter due to back pain, luckily stood up while he was conscious and moving.

Thus, Benavides took advantage of all these negativities, from falls to mechanical problems and penalties, and completed the third stage of Dakar 2024 with victory.

Actually, Quintanilla, Barreda and Benavides They signed a new podium signed by Hispanics, but the last podium was Kevin Benavides, American Ricky Bravec and Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren, who was close to Branch in the general classification and with Botswana in 3rd place. Minutes and 11 seconds against Chilean Nacho Cornejo.

Despite everything, both Quintanilla, Cornejo and the two Benavides brothers remain in the ‘top ten’ and continue to fight for the general classification. Although Branch remains first in this division, Cornejo is closely followed by Quintanilla at 16 minutes, Kevin Benavides at 20 minutes and Luciano Benavides at 27 minutes.

There are up to ten riders within thirty minutes of the leader in the motorcycle category, which is probably the most erratic of the entire race, as there have been four different winners since the prologue.

This third stage, a ‘half marathon’, covered 733 kilometers, 438 of which were timed, between the Saudi towns of Ad Duwadimi and Al Samiya, on one of the longest days of Dakar and the most diverse of the rally. The first sand dunes gave way to a piece of stone and another piece of land.

This day also expected more challenges at the finish line: Mechanics had only two hours after the arrival of the drivers to repair the cars left in the indoor park ahead of Tuesday’s stage.