Sanders konnte seinen Vorsprung wieder etwas ausbauen, Honda ist auf 2, 4, 5, 6 und 7 mit einem Rückstand von 10 - 30 Minuten
Morgen dann der zweite Teile der Marathonetappe
Today's winner, Daniel Sanders, has made up for the time lost in stage 3, when he had to open the road. He strengthened his position as Dakar leader, now holding a 13′26″ lead over his new closest rival, Tosha Schareina. This is the largest gap between the Australian and his closest competitor since the start. The difference also grows significantly with his other pursuers: Ross Branch (third) is 24′10″ behind, Skyler Howes (fourth) is at 27′01″, Ricky Brabec (fifth) is at 29′13″ and Adrien Van Beveren (sixth) is 29′26″ down.
Today is a marathon stage for everyone, with special conditions for the riders. A separate clock starts when they enter the service park where the motorbikes are parked. From that point, Rally GP riders are allowed 30 minutes of work on their machines, with the option of receiving help from another competitor to save time.
Interview von Brabec mit Seitenhieb auf Sanders bzw. dessen clevere Strategie... denn den morgigen Tag muss Sanders eröffnen - mal schauen wie es dann ausschaut
"Definitely not the best day of the week. You know, I opened almost all day. I'm really happy with my riding, and I'm happy with my navigation. But, yeah, like, 15 kilometres back, man, we made a big mistake and that definitely killed us. But we're here. We're healthy. We're walking, and nothing you could do about it. You know? Hopefully, some of the other guys followed the bad lines that we did.
I mean, overall, I'm happy with how I'm performing. Obviously, my results aren't showing that, but it's rally. One moment you could be doing the best you've ever done, and then one note later, you lost your Dakar. So, that's the way rally is. I opened up, yeah, from kilometre 3.
So, it was a long day for me, and just yeah. The 4 notes a kilometre, the guy that opens really loses the race. So if you wanna win the Dakar, I suggest you never open, and you'll win the Dakar. No problem."