After yesterday's intense stage, characterized by heavy storms and hail which forced the organization to suspend it midway, this morning the fourth stage of the Dakar 2023 that ran in a loop, Ha'Il - Ha'Il has started. With a total of 573 km of route, of which 148 have been liaison and 425 timed special, consisting mostly of sandy terrain that combined dunes with some camel grass.
The wet sand due to yesterday's rains caused the motorcycles to consume more fuel than usual when trying to overcome the dunes, and it seems that some problem with the fuel itself could also be the reason why some riders ran out of gas or broke down in the middle of the stage.
The Argentinean driver Diego Llanos, who was having a great race, placed 22nd in the provisional general ranking and 2nd in Rally2, today suffered problems like many other drivers, precisely because of this gasoline. The driver is now out of the race, but will try to continue the rally tomorrow.
Bad day also for Dani Nosiglia whose swingarm axle has broken at km 17. The Bolivian was able to repair his bike and managed to finish in 78th position, because of the lost time he adds ten positions in the general standings, now 36th.
Sandra Gómez, who rode almost the entire stage alone, finished 60th of the day and second in the women's trophy, improving six positions in the overall, 65th. Sandra is second in her category.
Exultant Patricio Cabrera, today did a great team job helping his teammate Nosiglia to solve a technical problem. The Chilean, who continues to improve on his results, finished 49th today and climbed nine places in the general standings, standing at 55th position.
#54 Dani Nosiglia:
"It has been a super complicated stage for me, at km 17 the swingarm axle broke, a part that I had no choice but to change if I wanted to continue. I thought I was out of the race, until Pato arrived and told me "I have a spare", really an incredible joy since it was clear that I would have been out without it. He left me with the spare and I started to do mechanics, I was able to change it, but it took me about an hour and 50 minutes, I lost a lot of time. Then I was able to resume the race behind all the bikes, quads, and many cars, so it was a very long and complicated day for me. This will change my race quite a bit from now on, but well, a good feeling, we're still in the race!".
#56 Sandra Gomez:
"A super fun stage, but also super hard, it was like a very very intense 400 kilometers motocross race. We had a transfer of 40 kilometers consisting of concrete roads in between stretches, thank God, so it was like two motocross stages of 200 kilometers each. But well, happy, I went out and I felt good, I've been pushing a little, opening my own tracks, the truth is that I almost rode the whole stage alone. In the second part of the special stage I had two riders behind me, but I kept pushing forward, they were a bit tired... I was a bit tired too, but not too much, it felt like the right thing to do. I think yesterday the bike suffered with so much water and I don't know if the pumps were damaged or perhaps the fuel was not in good condition, but I had some problems, so I could not go flat-out, but I almost didn't care because I arrived at the finish quite tired of arms, but well, I have been maintaining to get to the finish line properly, although I had to alternate the tanks and I was able to do it. We’ve seen many riders stranded, I’ve also seen Diego. So I'm happy, I think we had to be a little smart today after all the water we took yesterday.”
#29 Diego Llanos:
"We set off this morning for stage four, I was getting into a good rhythm at the start, the sand was wet, I felt comfortable. After CP1, around kilometer 140, I noticed that the bike started to fail and at km 170 it stopped and well, I tried to fix it, I started disassembling the fuel pump, check the fuel lines to see if they were okay, I knew it was something in the fuel, I tried everything until the last moment to see if I could continue, I did not want to call the helicopter, but well, given the circumstances, I had no choice, I was stranded for two or three hours, nothing could be done and the riders who passed had no spare to help me. In the end, I called the helicopter and I had to abandon, a bit of disappointment, bitterness, but well, welcome to the Dakar... so nothing, let's hope in the next days we fix the bike, and see if I can reengage to do the next stages and have a good result, even if it's stage after stage".
#35 Patricio Cabrera:
"Day four, a physically challenging day, the whole day practically on the sand, starting on the special where my teammate Daniel had to stop due to a problem and it turned out I just had the necessary spare part so I gave it to him. Then I went out to push ahead, I had a couple of little problems that are normal in the Dakar, but I arrived well, safe, without any falls. Everything was perfect, so we are motivated for tomorrow, let's keep it adventurous".
On Thursday tomorrow the fifth stage will be held, which again repeats a loop, Ha'Il - Ha'Il, with a 270km liaison and a 373km special stage, the participants will cover a new and tough day of up to 643 km, with a terrain that stands out for the dunes and camel grass.
*It is important to note that due to the fact that the classifications are subject to last-minute changes by the organization, they may differ from the ones we publish.
