TOP-FIVE RESULT FOR LUCIANO BENAVIDES ON DAKAR STAGE THREE Copy
Yesterday at 04:05 PM
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Luciano Benavides delivered an impressive fifth-place finish on stage three of the 2025 Dakar Rally, maintaining his sixth-place position in the overall standings. Edgar Canet showed blistering pace on the 327-kilometer timed special to finish eighth overall and claim a career-first stage win in the Rally2 category. The victory extends the young Spaniard's Rally2 lead to over five minutes. After opening the stage and encountering an issue with his roadbook, Daniel Sanders came home in 17th but maintained his overall rally lead. Kevin Benavides put in a safe but solid ride to place 34th.
Technical navigation and long, rocky tracks ensured another tough day in the saddle on stage three of the Dakar Rally. Covering a total distance of 793 kilometers from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, the stage required both focus and endurance from all competitors.
Capitalizing on his advantageous start position as the sixth rider to set off into stage three, Luciano Benavides charged hard aboard his KTM 450 RALLY throughout the physically demanding special to secure an impressive fifth-place result. Maintaining his sixth-place position in the provisional overall standings, Luciano has successfully narrowed the gap to the rally leader, teammate Sanders, to under 18 minutes.
Luciano Benavides: "The start of the stage today was super rocky, but I really focused and made sure I didn't make any mistakes or lose any time. The navigation was also quite tricky in the second half of the special, so I did my best and I'm happy with today's result. I feel really good, and I'm happy with how the Dakar is going so far for me."
Stage three proved to be a strong one for Edgar Canet, with the 19-year-old showing impressive pace on the demanding route to Al Henakiyah. Canet skillfully navigated his way through the special to secure his first stage win in the Rally2 category of the 2025 Dakar so far, also securing a superb eighth-place overall result. Edgar successfully retained the class lead after three stages with an advantage of over five minutes.
Edgar Canet: "I'm happy to have finished this stage, it was tough with the rocks and some pretty tricky navigation, but I didn't crash or get lost, so that was a success. It would have been easy to make a mistake and lose a lot of time today so I'm glad to have avoided that. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's marathon stage now!"
Opening stage three was never going to be easy for Daniel Sanders, particularly with the timed special featuring tricky navigation and rough terrain. Unfortunately, an issue with his digital roadbook mid-way through the special proved costly for Chucky, causing him to lose valuable time to his rivals as he struggled to navigate. The Australian was awarded some time back after the stage and finished 17th. Despite the setback, Sanders' earlier stage victories allow him to hold onto the overall rally lead by nearly seven minutes, a margin he aims to build upon when he starts mid-pack tomorrow.
Daniel Sanders: "I felt really good on the bike today and my navigation this morning was spot on through some of the really difficult parts. Unfortunately, I had an issue with my roadbook tablet after the refueling stop so I really struggled to navigate. I was lost for a while as I had no way of knowing the route, and I decided to follow a rider who then also got lost which cost me even more time. The good thing is I'm still leading the overall, so all I can do now is freshen up, recover and get ready to claim some time back tomorrow.
Faced with rocky terrain and challenging navigation, Kevin Benavides opted to slow his pace and focus on minimizing errors on the unforgiving route. Sustaining a steady rhythm throughout the 327-kilometer timed special, the Argentinian finished in 34th place, maintaining his position in 27th in the overall standings.
Kevin Benavides: "It was another tough day at the Dakar! I took it steady through the beginning of the special as it was very rocky, so I was a bit slower there, but I didn't make any mistakes so that's all that matters. After that, it was fast, and I tried to make up as much time as possible until the end of the stage. I'm really happy to have finished another day and can't wait for more!"
Provisional Results – 2025 Dakar Rally, Stage 3
- Lorenzo Santolino (ESP), Sherco, 3:44:34
- Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:48:35 +4:01
- Skyler Howes (USA), Honda, 3:48:44 +4:10
- Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 3:48:48 +4:14
- Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:49:29 +4:55
Other KTM
- Edgar Canet (ESP), KTM, 3:50:05 +5:31
- Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:54:29 +9:55
- Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 4:13:36 +29:02
Provisional Standings – 2025 Dakar Rally (after 3 of 12 stages)
- Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 20:05:00
- Skyler Howes (USA), Honda, 20:11:51 +6:51
- Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 20:11:59 +6:59
- Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 20:14:15 +9:15
- Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 20:18:11 +13:11
Other KTM
- Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 20:22:31 +17:31
- Edgar Canet (ESP), KTM, 20:54:53 +49:53
- Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 22:13:46 +2:08:46
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