Dakar 2023 has come to an end after 14 intense stages (including the prologue) and especially, after a very difficult first week, full of rocks and potholes that ended the scoring of the competition. In the cars, Nasser dominated and the final battle in the bikes and in the T4 light car category was spectacular, with suspense and drama right to the end. Time to rate the main characters of the 2023 edition:
10. Nasser Al-Attiyah
Nasser Al-Attiyah won his fifth title by dominating the car category with great courage. At the wheel of a reliable car, and with error-free driving, knowing where to push, he completed a perfect Dakar. He knew how to endure the rocks of stage 2, avoid accidents and kept his margin in the second week even though he saw how Loeb got 6 consecutive stage wins. He won without breaking a sweat. Loeb won 6 stages in a row (total 7), it’s true, but he did it to Nasser Al-Attiyah with his elbow through the window.
10. Benavides and the fight with motorcycles
Kevin Benavides deserves 10 for his last attack and subsequent overall victory over Price. But the truth is that all the drivers above deserve it. They raced hard and even raised the very high level of motorcycle racing. Benavides, Price, Quintanilla and Howes had a fantastic Dakar, as did the first week of a man who has everything to dominate motorcycles in the future, 21-year-old Mason Klein. Great Dakar also for Argentine Luciano Benavides, who achieved 3 stage victories.
9. The first week tour
The organization needed to strengthen the Dakar and did so in the first week where the fatigue of the riders was exhausted. The rocks of the early days were very complex and put the competitors and their mechanics to the test. A Dakar should be a test of resistance, something complex, epic. In the first week it was, without doubt, and also, with a very correct roadbook, without the mistakes of last year.
9. Youth in power
Eryk Goczal, only 18 years old, won the Dakar in the T4 category with Oriol Mena as co-driver and showed that a star was born with him. The Polish driver was called to do great things in Rally-Raids. He showed great drive, but at the same time, as Mena said, great values. Also noteworthy was the first Dakar for the Catalan Pau Navarro, who at the age of 18 managed to be 9th overall in T4. In the motos, Mason Klein had an amazing first week and showed his credentials to dominate the motos in the near future.
9. The Spanish co-pilots
The battle in T4, with two Spanish co-drivers fighting for the title (Oriol Vidal and Oriol Mena) in a group of favorites that also included Farrés and Ortega until they suffered a setback in the final stages, shows only a very large school of companions. -drivers What is in Spain? Oliveras, former ‘copy’ of Farrés and Nani Roma, is 7th overall with Yacopini. Monleón was 17th to the right of Przygonski and Alex Haro was unable to finish due to the abandonment of the Argentine Terranova. Lucas Cruz couldn’t finish Sainz either. Spain had navigators for a while.
9. Joan Pedrero and his work
Joan Pedrero did an amazing Dakar. He finished 23rd on the bikes, only 14 minutes from the Top-10 he achieved last year, but with a big difference: he did it in the Original category, unaided and sleeping in a tent. He took care of the bike, did not take risks and set a good speed on motorcycles, where the speed is higher every year. It was shown. Javi Vega from Madrid also finished 2nd in the Original by Motul category in a different year for him, without Sara García by his side, as he was unable to compete due to an operation.
8. Joan Barreda, no prize
You need to assess the quality of your attempt. The man from Torreblanca, at 39 years old and with a Honda outside the factory structure, went out on the track for everyone and managed the test very well. He completes the smartest run in years, thinking more with his head than his throttle fist to get to the dunes in the fight against the attack in the final arena. But he suffered a fall before being forced to leave.
8. Santolino and Schareina
Lorenzo Santolino finally put himself in the Top-10 on the bikes and the Valencian Tosha Schareina showed her speed on the bike and her bright future in a very good second week, after breaking her little finger on the stage 2.
7. The Spanish resistance
The Spanish again showed their tremendous resistance. Laia Sanz did not give up after the bell twists of stage 5 and the great engine help from Astara. The many problems with his car did not hinder him from reaching the finish line. 13 out of 13 for him. Carlos Checa finished the Dakar in style with a fantastic Top-10 in the final stage and showed speed. Isidre Esteve added his 18th Dakar and overcame starter motor problems. Cristina Gutiérrez suffered multiple setbacks with her lightweight prototype and even got stuck in a river due to heavy rain. But it came to an end. The Spaniards showed great resistance and love for the Dakar, like Carlos Sainz, when he forced the helicopter to spin to try to continue.
4. FIA regulations should be fairer
The FIA has a lot of homework to do after the Dakar to try to equalize things between combustion cars and alternative energy vehicles like Audi in the car category. The Audi has 100 kilograms more than the minimum weight according to the regulation, but also because it is very difficult to reduce that weight further. The FIA only measured the acceleration and found that the Audi needed a few more horses. Insufficient. Its greater weight hurts jumping, compression and braking, all in all performance. The FIA had to analyze the data to achieve a fair match which now is not. That’s what Carlos Sainz and company are hoping for.
3. The ‘Empty Quarter’ does not exist
Much more is expected from the ‘Empty Quarter’ episodes. After a very difficult first week, everyone was looking forward to a long and difficult day on the sands of said desert. But the stages are too short and there are only 40 kilometers of complex sands in the first stage of the marathon (stage 11). The rest is smooth. He didn’t make much of a difference overall.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
