Stage 04
W2RC 2023
Round 1

Quintanilla second on stage four

sa Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Desert lovers finally had a break after so many stones and rocks. In a circuit with start and arrival at the Ha’il bivouac, the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally 2023 was composed of 425 kilometers on the chronograph and a liaison of 152 km.

Quintanilla second on stage four

The first 100 kilometers were actually true mountains of sand that gave riders the unique pleasure of climbing up and down. Afterwards there was a sequence of sandy tracks – quite wet due to the heavy rain in the past days – in the return journey to Ha’il. On a more Dakar typical day, navigation was a big challenge to overcome.

Monster Energy Honda Team had a good day, first because Ricky Brabec could come back to the bivouac safe and sound after being cleared from the hospital. Then also because Chilean Pablo Quintanilla made the second time of the day, just 16 seconds behind Spaniard Joan Barreda – who is also riding an Honda CRF 450 Rally. Adrien Van Beveren was fifth today, two minutes and 37 seconds after Barreda. Making honor to the true Dakar spirit, José Ignacio Cornejo stopped to help the Portuguese Joaquim Rodrigues, who had a severe crash. Because of this noble gesture, he lost seven minutes and 35 seconds – so this time was later compensated in his final standing: he got 10th place in the stage. Overall Quintanilla is now in seventh place, Van Beveren eighth and Nacho Cordejo ninth.

Tomorrow the fifth stage from this year’s Dakar Rally will once again start and finish at the Ha’il bivouac. This special stage will have 374 kilometers and a long liaison of 275 km. In this second loop around the Saudi capital of off road racing, a field of small dunes with camel grass will give way to vast expanses peppered with dunes. So dune jumping will be key and will spell the difference between gaining and losing minutes in this slalom-type sector. In this terrain, mastering soft sand without losing time is certainly a goal more at the hand of real experts.


Ruben Faria
Ruben Faria
This was certainly a very positive day for Honda, with four bikes ranked in the top ten. Joan Barreda - who is also racing with the support from Honda but with his own team - won and our rider Pablo Quintanilla was second. Adrien also did very well and Nacho stopped to help an injured colleague and even so he was in the top 10.

Pablo Quintanilla
Pablo Quintanilla 7
Monster Energy Honda Team
This was a good day for me, another super tough stage but finally I have found my rhythm and I am quite happy about that. It is great also to be finally racing in the open desert, the kind of terrain I enjoy best. There is still a long way to go but I feel strong and motivated to keep going and fight for the lead.

Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren 42
Monster Energy Honda Team
This was a beautiful stage, with great terrain. Everyone knows I love the sand tracks so I had a lot of pleasure riding along this day. The navigation is always omnipresent and I made my way almost all the time on my own. I am also very happy with the performance of my Honda CRF 450 Rally and all the technical support we are having to make it even better.

José Ignacio Cornejo
José Ignacio Cornejo 11
Monster Energy Honda Team
This was another hard day. I was going well but then at around kilometer 90 I had to stop and help Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues. 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.


Stage Result

Pos.Num.RiderTeamTimeGapPenalty
15Joan BarredaMonster Energy JB Team04:28'18--
27Pablo QuintanillaMonster Energy Honda Team04:28'34+00:00'16-
310Skyler HowesHusqvarna Factory Racing04:29'23+00:01'05-
48Toby PriceRed Bull KTM Factory Racing04:30'42+00:02'24-
542Adrien Van BeverenMonster Energy Honda Team04:30'55+00:02'37-
677Luciano BenavidesHusqvarna Factory Racing04:31'31+00:03'13-
911Jose Ignacio CornejoMonster Energy Honda Team04:37'22+00:09'04-

Overall Result

Pos.Num.RiderTeamTimeGapPenalty
118Daniel SandersRed Bull GasGas Factory Racing18:40'03-00:04'00
210Skyler HowesHusqvarna Factory Racing18:43'36+00:03'33-
347Kevin BenavidesRed Bull KTM Factory Racing18:44'08+00:04'0500:03'00
45Joan BarredaMonster Energy JB Team18:44'33+00:04'3000:01'00
58Toby PriceRed Bull KTM Factory Racing18:47'20+00:07'17-
69Mason KleinBAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM18:50'08+00:10'0500:02'00
77Pablo QuintanillaMonster Energy Honda Team18:51'08+00:11'0500:02'00
842Adrien Van BeverenMonster Energy Honda Team18:58'03+00:18'00-
1211Jose Ignacio CornejoMonster Energy Honda Team19:11'00+00:30'57-

Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image Gallery image