2023 Dakar Rally: Loeb provides bright spot for Hunters with Stage 4 win

It has been a difficult Dakar Rally for the Prodrive Hunters as tyre failures and other similar misfortunes have marred their quartet of drivers throughout the race despite placing two on the T1 podium in the rain-shortened third stage. Matters seemed to worsen in the Stage #4 Ha’il loop as three suffered major issues, but Sébastien Loeb was able to buck the trend and escape with the win.

After finishing second in Stage #1, the 2022 runner-up seemed to have his luck run out across the next two legs with three blown tyres and a mechanical issue plaguing him. Although dropped down to twenty-sixth in the overall standings, Loeb held off the Audis of Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz for the T1 victory. He beat Peterhansel by thirteen seconds, but even this did not go without a hitch as he lost his power steering in the closing run.

“That’s great to take the stage again on the Dakar. It’s a great feeling as it proves we have the speed with the Hunter,” said Loeb. “We pushed really hard from the start to the end of the stage as the car was going well. Everything was good. About eighty kilometres from the end of the stage, I felt the power steering tighten a little but then twenty kilometres from the end it went so we had to be quite a bit slower in the dunes to the finish, but we did what we could and it worked. We’re happy to be on the top step today.”

The full-distance win provides some much-needed relief for the Hunters. Orlando Terranova, Loeb’s partner at Bahrain Raid Xtreme who finished third in Stage #3, retired from the Rally altogether after aggravating a lower back injury he sustained in a hard landing during Tuesday’s stage. Vaidotas Žala suffered from oil leakage in his Hunter’s two right-rear shock absorbers, while Stage #3 winner Guerlain Chicherit had a broken rear suspension arm just nine minutes into the fourth followed by losing power steering.

The 2023 Dakar Rally has proven to be more attrition-heavy than previous editions in Saudi Arabia, and this continued to be evident beyond the Hunters’ bad luck. Bike team Hero MotoSports was particularly hit hard on Wednesday as Franco Caimi was their lone rider of four to not have any problems en route to a seventeenth-place finish; Joaquim Rodrigues fell off his bike after ninety kilometres and broke his left femur, requiring a medical airlift, while Ross Branch and Stage #2 runner-up Sebastian Bühler respectively suffered a mechanical failure and ran out of fuel. T1 driver Benediktas Vanagas also withdrew mid-race for medical attention due to concussion-like symptoms.

Marek Goczał, the T4 winner in Stage #1, did not even make it out of the first sector after a bizarre incident involving fellow SSV driver David Zille‘s car. While climbing a dune, Goczał’s steering broke and caused him to tumble down into Zille’s path, resulting in a head-on collision. Although both were forced to retire from the stage, they were unharmed in the accident. Goczał’s son Eryk was more fortunate as he went on to claim his second stage win with Marek’s brother Michal in third.

In the Bikes, Joan Barreda won his thirtieth career stage despite nursing a broken left big toe that he received in Stage #2. José Ignacio Cornejo was initially deemed the winner after race officials awarded him 25:55 in time credit for attending to Rodrigues until help arrived, but a revised calculation ruled he had only lost seven minutes and thirty-five seconds total, leaving him a still-solid ninth.

“I was going well but then at around kilometre 90 I had to stop and help Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues,” explained Cornejo. “He had a severe crash and I had to call medical help. After this, it took me a while to get back on track and find my rhythm back, but I am glad I did it anyway. That is part of the solidary Dakar spirit.”

“I’m feeling much better now at the hospital, and will be undergoing a surgery,” commented Rodrigues. “I thank all our fans and partners for the concern and support, and I hope to be back in action soon.”

Stage #4 winners

Leaders after Stage #4