Dakar: Price in sixth after Stage 4

Dust and a testing navigational challenge kept the competitors of Dakar Rally 2018 on their toes during stage four, which saw drivers and riders battle it out in the Peruvian desert over a 114-kilometre liaison followed by a 330-kilometre timed special section.

The tough conditions claimed leading rider and defending Dakar title-holder Sam Sunderland, the Briton retiring with back injuries after crashing his KTM in the day's timed special section.

Visibility was low in the dry, sandy and dusty conditions and Aussie hope Toby Price (KTM, pictured) and teammate Antoine Meo both lost their way during the day's mid-point, fortunately then getting back on track to reach the stage four finish line.

Yamaha dominated the day's proceedings, with Frenchmen Adrien van Beveren and Xavier de Soultrait guiding their bikes to a one-two finish in the stage's provisional results, ahead of KTM rival Matthias Walkner. Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) was fourth across the line, leaving Slovakian hopeful Stefan Svitko (KTM) to round out the top five.

In the overall provisional standings, Van Beveren leads the Dakar by nearly two minutes from Quintanilla, with Argentine gun Kevin Benavides (Honda) filling the third step on the ladder.

Price finished stage four in 15th position, some 11 minutes down on the leader. The result sees the 30-year-old slip back to sixth spot in the provisional overall standings, but the proven campaigner says he remains confident of a strong finish.

"That was the most difficult day so far," said Price after completing stage four.

"We thought by starting in a group it would be like a nice day out riding with your friends but as soon as we got to the dunes, the going got really tough. The worst thing was the sand was really unpredictable – there were loads of soft patches that were hard to see and if you were the first rider to hit them you ended up dropping right back.

"The group I was in missed a waypoint so we lost a fair amount of time getting back on track. As a positive I finished the stage in one piece, I’m in a good start position for tomorrow so I’ll crack on and see if I can claw back some time then."

With 10 stages remaining, the provisional leaderboard for the Dakar Rally 2018 is as follows:

2018 Dakar Rally provisional overall standings
1. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 11:03:23
2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 11:05:18 +1:55
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 11:06:38 +3:15
4. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 11:08:46 +5:23
5. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 11:10:57 +7:34
6. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 11:13:37 +10:14

More sand dunes now await competitors for stage five, which at 774 kilometres is the second-longest stage of the event. Conducted entirely in Peru, competitors will leave the town of San Juan de Marcano en route for the southern city of Arequipa, the route taking in a 266-kilometre timed special section and reaching an altitude of 2000 metres above sea level.

Bikesales will have more information on the 2018 Dakar Rally as it comes to hand.

Related reading:
Preview: 2018 Dakar Rally