DAKAR
DAKAR 2021 STAGE 4 – DE SOULTRAIT TAKES LEAD
Published
2 weeks agoon
By
F1LEAD
Dakar 2021 stage 4 – Leader of the Dakar after the 4th stage on Wednesday, Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait is having fun riding his Husqvarna.
Xavier de Soultrait has become the latest overall leader in the Bikes division of the 2021 Dakar Rally as Toby Price slipped back on Stage 4.
De Soultrait’s advantage is a mere 15 seconds over Joan Barreda Bort, who picked up a second stage win in three days, while Price is eighth in the general classification at 7:47s back.
Victorian Daniel Sanders set the third-fastest stage time between Wadi Ad-Dawasir and Riyadh, meaning the KTM Factory Team rider is now 14th overall with a deficit of 14:08s to top spot.
Heading out as one of the road openers was again a significant burden, with Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland setting the quickest stage time of the first five starters but only the 12th quickest across the field.
Having experienced that pain on Stage 3, Barreda Bort and his Monster Energy Honda held sway at all but one waypoint on the fourth special of the event.
The Spaniard is worried, however, about how quickly he is going through his rubber given riders are allocated six rear tyres for the whole event.
Standings after Stage 4 (Top 10 only):
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Xavier de Soultrait | Husqvarna | 15hr00m25s |
2 | Joan Barreda | Honda | 15s |
3 | Kevin Benavides | Honda | 3m24s |
4 | Ross Branch | Yamaha | 4m24s |
5 | Skyler Howes | KTM | 4m26s |
6 | Luciano Benavides | Husqvarna | 5m31s |
7 | Sam Sunderland | KTM | 7m13s |
8 | Toby Price | KTM | 7m47s |
9 | Jose Ignacio Cornejo | Honda | 8m06s |
10 | Pablo Quintanilla | Husqvarna | 09m31s |
“It was another good stage,” said Barreda Bort.
“I started very far back because of my result yesterday, but that’s the way it is in this Dakar; you’re either at the front or far back. We need to keep it up.
“I’ve used three tyres so far. I think the one I used today is quite worn, but I was supposed to use it for three days, so it’s not great news. But we’ll see what we can do in the coming days.”
De Soultrait generally gave up only small amounts of time to Barreda Bort between each waypoint, riding his HT Rally Raid Husqvarna to the fifth-best stage time.
Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda) ceded one position to third in the general classification, 3:24s adrift of De Soultrait, after clocking the fourth-fastest stage time on his Monster Energy Honda.
Skyler Howes (BAS Dakar KTM) dropped from the overall lead to fifth, ahead of Luciano Benavides (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Red Bull KTM team-mates Sunderland and Price.
The latter was in fact the only other pilot to lead at a waypoint, 80km into the 337km special, but made a navigational error soon after and eventually reached the finish with a time 14:42s slower than Barreda Bort’s.
For rookie Sanders, who got away with a crash on a dune, 14th overall represents a gain of two spots, while third is his best result in a stage proper after grabbing the same position in the Prologue.
Last year’s Bikes champion, Ricky Brabec, sits 15th in the general classification.
The Monster Energy Honda rider was only 5:18s off the pace to the penultimate waypoint but lost another 7:35s in the last 39km, and is an increased 16:21s away from the event lead.
Australian Michael Burgess (BAS Dakar KTM) climbed to 38th overall and compatriot Andrew Houlihan (Nomadas Adventure) improved to 67th.
Stage 5 runs from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah, with a 456km special and 662km in total, and is tipped to be the toughest of this year’s Dakar.
DAKAR 2021 STAGE 4 – DE SOULTRAIT TAKES LEAD DAKAR 2021 STAGE 4 – DE SOULTRAIT TAKES LEAD
2021 DAKAR – NASSER AL-ATTIYAH TRIUMPHED ON STAGE 3
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE F1 NEWS VIA Facebook AND Twitter

ASTON MARTIN AND MCLAREN HAPPY FOR MERCEDES’S SUPPORT

A BETTER PACKAGE FOR MCLAREN – NORRIS SAYS ABOUT MERCEDES ENGINE

HAMILTON DIDN’T TELL ME IF HE WILL SIGN OR NOT – DOMENICALI

ALFA ROMEO F1 TEAM – SAUBER SET TO EXTEND FERRARI F1 DEAL

FORMULA 1 SHOULD BE INSPIRED BY AUSTRALIAN OPEN – RICCIARDO

WE ARE FLEXIBLE AND HAVE ALTERNATIVE RACES – DOMENICALI ABOUT CALENDAR 2021
THE NEXT RACE 2021
Australia | ![]() | 21 Mar |
BRITISH TIME | ![]() | SESSION |
02:00 - 03:30 | Free practice 1 | |
06:00 - 07:30 | Free practice 2 | |
04:00 - 05:00 | Free practice 3 | |
07:00 - 07:18 | Qualifying | |
06:10 - 08:10 | Race | |
Melbourne | 58 laps | 307km |
NEWSLETTER

“EITHER YOU DRIVE ON OUR TERMS OR YOU LEAVE” – JORDAN ABOUT HAMILTON

ALBON TO COMPETE IN DTM IN 2021

ASTON MARTIN MADE A BIG MISTAKE WHEN THEY SIGNED WITH VETTEL FOR 2021 – JORDAN

SHORTER RACE FORMAT FOR ALL RACE WEEKENDS IN 2021

MERCEDES HINT AT HAMILTON CONTRACT BREAKTHROUGH WITH TEASING S-MEDIA POST

ASTON MARTIN 2021 – WILL A CHANGE OF SCENERY BRING THE BEST OUT OF VETTEL?

ASTON MARTIN AND MCLAREN HAPPY FOR MERCEDES’S SUPPORT

A BETTER PACKAGE FOR MCLAREN – NORRIS SAYS ABOUT MERCEDES ENGINE

HAMILTON DIDN’T TELL ME IF HE WILL SIGN OR NOT – DOMENICALI

ALFA ROMEO F1 TEAM – SAUBER SET TO EXTEND FERRARI F1 DEAL

FORMULA 1 SHOULD BE INSPIRED BY AUSTRALIAN OPEN – RICCIARDO

WE ARE FLEXIBLE AND HAVE ALTERNATIVE RACES – DOMENICALI ABOUT CALENDAR 2021

DAKAR 2021 LIVE STREAM – CLOSING CEREMONY

HIGHLIGHTS STAGE 6 – 2021 DAKAR RALLY

DAKAR 2021 – KEVIN BENAVIDES WINS THE 5TH STAGE

DAKAR 2021 STAGE 4 – AL-ATTIYAH BEATS PETERHANSEL

DAKAR 2021 STAGE 4 – DE SOULTRAIT TAKES LEAD
