Dakar Rally 2021 Stage 3 Results & Highlights: Indian Team & Riders Improve Their Overall Rankings

Speaking about today's rally stage, it was in the town of Wadi Ad-Dawasir. A total distance of 629 kilometres was covered by the riders completing a Special stage of 403 kilometres. The special stage was mostly composed of sand (78 per cent).

Riders had to tackle dunes in the early part of the special adding to the navigational challenges this year. At the end of the special stage, participants came across patches of soil terrain making it a lot easier as compared to the initial dunes.

Sherco Factory Rally Team rider Harith Noah continues his impressive form and finished 27th in Stage 3 of the rally race. He completed the stage 23 minutes and 18 seconds behind the stage leader with a total time of 03:56:41. Also riding for Sherco Factory Rally Team riders Rui Goncalves and Lorenzo Santolino continue their strong perfromance in the rally race to complete Stage 3 in 9th and 13th position, respectively.

Hero MotoSport rider, C S Santosh finished today stage in 36th position and continues his steady performance. The ‘Fast Indian' managed a stage timing of 04:04:15, which is around 31 minutes behind the stage leader. Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Buhler also riding for Hero MotoSport have finished the third stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally in 20th and 21st position, respectively.

Indian debutant, Ashish Raorane has completed today's stage in 83rd position overall. The privateer competing in the Original By Motul category finished the Stage 3 in 06:01:05 and has improved in his category rankings. Ashish is now placed 21st in the Malle Moto a.k.a Original By Motul category.

With Stage 3 of the rally race getting completed there has been a major change in the General rankings. The 2021 season is currently being led by Skyler Howes riding for BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team. Skyler Howes has not won any stages of the 2021 Dakar Rally yet. However, the American rider has managed to finish within a few minutes from the leader on each stage.

Xavier De Soultrait riding for HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing and Toby Price are currently placed 2nd and 3rd position in General rankings after Stage 3 of the 2021 Dakar Rally.

Stage 3 Provisional Results:
Hero MotoSport Rally Team Standings
20th Position - Joaquim Rodrigues [03:50:51]
21st Position - Sebastian Buhler [03:51:26]
36th Position - C S Santosh [04:04:15]

Sherco Rally Team Standings
9th Position - Rui Goncalves [03:45:42]
13th Position - Lorenzo Santolino [03:48:19]
27th Position - Harith Noah [03:56:41]

Privateer (Original By Motul)
83rd Position - Ashish Rorane [06:01:05]

Stage 3 Standings (Bike)
1st Position - Toby Price Bort [04:17:56] (Red Bull KTM Factory Team)
2nd Position - Kevin Benavides [04:21:51] (Monster Energy Honda Team 2021)
3rd Position - Matthias Walkner [04:23:58] (Red Bull KTM Factory Team)

Stage 3 Winners In Other Categories
Quad:
Nicolas Cavigliasso (DRAG'ON Rally Team)

Car:
Nasser Al-Attiyah & Matthieu Baumel (Toyota Gazoo Racing)

Lightweight Vehicle / SSV:
Francisco Lopez Contardo & Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre (South Racing CAN-AM)

Truck:
Siarhei Vizovich, Pavel Haranin & Anton Zaparoshchanka (Maz-Sportauto)

General Standings After Stage 3 (Provisional)
Hero MotoSport Rally Team Standings
19th Position - Joaquim Rodrigues
24th Position - Sebastian Buhler
34th Position - C S Santosh

Sherco Rally Team Standings
11th Position - Lorenzo Santolino
22nd Position - Rui Goncalves
31st Position - Harith Noah

Privateer (Original By Motul)
84th Position - Ashish Rorane

Overall Standings (Bike)
1st Position - Skyler Howes (BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team)
2nd Position - Xavier De Soultrait (HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing)
3rd Position - Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Team)

Thoughts About The 2021 Dakar Rally stage 3 Result & Highlights

After 3 successful stages of the 2021 Dakar Rally, we are happy that all riders are safe without any major incident in the race. The navigation turns out to be the biggest challenge for competitors so far. Indian team and riders continue their steady charge in the rally race. Stay tuned for a complete race report after each Stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally.