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Dakar 2024 Stage 4 Results: Nacho Wins Again As Loeb Claims First Stage Victory
Stage 4 of Dakar 2024 saw Honda's Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Nacho) chalk up his second stage win at this year's Dakar with WRC legend Sebastien Loeb taking victory in the cars category.
Stage 4 was part two of the first marathon stage of Dakar 2024. Today's stage saw competitors race from Al Salamiya to Al Hofuf, a distance of 631 kilometres which also included a 299km timed special stage.
Bikes
Honda's Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, known to Dakar fans simply as Nacho, claimed his second stage win of Dakar 2024 today. The Chilean rider finished the special stage in 02:52:11.
Nacho finished the stage two minutes and 59 seconds ahead of American teammate, Ricky Brabec. Brabec brought his Honda across the line in 02:54:10.
The final podium spot for Stage 4 was claimed by yesterday's winner and defending champion Kevin Benavides. The KTM rider ended the stage in 02:54:29, three minutes and 18 seconds behind his Chilean rival.
Hero's Ross Branch, who led the Dakar for the first three days of the rally, ended the day in fourth overall. The rider from Botswana ended the stage in 02:55:37, four minutes and 26 seconds behind Nacho despite having to ride for quite a bit of time with bent handlebars.
Hero's other rider still competing in Dakar 2024, Joan Barreda Bort, ended the day in seventh overall, finishing the special stage in 02:59:26. Bort ended the day, eight minutes and 15 seconds behind Nacho, which once again included a time penalty for the third day in a row.
Sherco's Rui Goncalves ended the stage, one place behind Bort. The rider from Portugal finished today's special in 03:01:02, nine minutes and 51 seconds behind Nacho's Honda.
The lone remaining Indian at Dakar 2024, Sherco TVS rider Harith Noah, finished Stage 4 in 03:12:16. Noah ended the day, 21 minutes and five seconds behind the winner.
In the overall standings, Nacho Florimo has taken over the bikes category with a time of 03:12:16. Hero's Ross Branch, who led the Dakar for the first three days, is now one minute and 15 seconds behind the Honda rider.
The final podium spot in the overall standings is occupied by Honda's Ricky Brabec, who is now four minutes and 56 behind his Chilean teammate.
Joan Barreda Bort is currently ranked 12th overall, sitting 42 minutes and 34 seconds behind Honda's Florimo. The Spanish legend would be a lot higher in the standings if he had not picked up 21 minutes of penalties.
Sherco's Rui Goncalves sits 14th overall, 54 minutes and 28 seconds behind Honda's Nacho. His teammate, India's Harith Noah sits in the 18th spot, one hour, 20 minutes and 13 seconds off the pace.
Cars
The cars category saw its fifth winner in five days with 9-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb claiming the win. Loeb blitzed the sands of Saudi Arabia, finishing the stage with a time of 02:36:02.
Loeb ended the stage one minute and eight seconds ahead of Saudi Arabian Overdrive Racing driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, who ended the stage one minute and eight seconds behind the French rally legend.
Taking the final podium spot for today's stage was two-time defending champion Nasser Al Attiyah, who ended the stage fourteen seconds behind Al Rajhi's Toyota Hilux.
Carlos Sainz led the Audi trio, ending the special stage in fourth place, five minutes and eight seconds behind Loeb, which also included a 10-second time penalty.
Stephane Peterhansel ended the stage in fifth place, five minutes and 59 seconds behind Loeb. The final Audi of Mattias Ekstrom, ended the day in 12th, 12 minutes and 24 seconds off the pace, after being hit with a two-minute time penalty.
In the overall standing of the car category, Overdrive racing driver and home favourite Yazeed Al Rajhi continues to lead Dakar 2024 with an overall time of 15:44:39.
The Saudi Arabian driver extended his lead over Audi's Carlos Sainz to four minutes and 29 seconds. Two-time defending Dakar champion, Nasser Al Attiyah leapfrogged his way into 3rd overall and now sits 11 minutes and three seconds behind Al Rajhi.
Yesterday's winner Toyota's Lucas Moraes continues to hang onto fourth overall in the cars category and is 19:31 off the pace set by Al Rajhi. Audi's Mattias Ekstrom, who has accumulated two minutes worth of time penalties now sits in fifth place, 19:42 seconds behind the home favourite.
Sebastien Loeb, with his win today, has made his way into 6th place in the general rankings after Stage 4 and is 23 minutes and 50 seconds behind Al Rajhi.
The final Audi in the fray driven by Mr Dakar himself, Stephane Peterhansel is in eighth place. The French legend is 26 minutes and 56 seconds off the pace (which includes four minutes of time penalties).
Thoughts About Dakar 2024 Stage 4
Stage 4 of Dakar 2024 saw Honda's 'Nacho' Florimo claim his second stage win of this year's rally which allowed the Chilean rider to take the overall lead from Hero's Ross Branch.
Sebastien Loeb, found his pace again today as the French WRC legend blitzed the Saudi sands to claim the stage win. Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al Rajhi continues to lead Dakar 2024 but will have to keep an eye out for the two-time defending champion Nasser Al Attiyah, who was really on the pace today.
Tomorrow's stage will see competitors head into the infamous Empty Quarter as they make their way to Shubaytah ahead of the dreaded 48-hour Chrono Stage (Stage 6). Tomorrow, competitors will cover a total of 645 kilometres, which includes a small 118-kilometre-long timed special stage.
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