Dakar Rally 2023—The Story So Far
E
ight stages of the 2023 Dakar
Rally have been run and won,
and it's been a very good rally so
far for two of the three Americans
in the race who have a chance of
winning.
Husqvarna Factory Rac-
ing's Skyler Howes has kept his
powder the driest and has led
the rally since stage five when he
took over from GasGas' Daniel
Sanders. The Utah man, Howes,
hasn't yet won a stage on the
2023 Dakar, his best result so
far being second behind Sand-
ers on stage three and again to
teammate Luciano Benavides on
stage six, and he holds the slen-
derest of leads—13 seconds—
from KTM's Kevin Benavides and
21-year-old whiz kid Mason Klein
(KTM).
Klein's rally has been one in
which the factory teams must
surely come knocking for 2024.
The Californian took his first
Dakar win on stage two and led
the overall by nearly two minutes
from Toby Price (KTM), but water
in his fuel on stage four meant
he lost 10 minutes and dropped
back down to sixth.
A fine charge through the field
to second on stage eight—one
that would have been a win and a
recapture of the overall lead had
he not been docked two minutes
for speeding through a controlled
zone—means he is now right
back in contention for the title as
the rally enters its second week.
The rally has been a game of
consistency for the factory Red
Bull KTM team of former winners
Kevin Benavides and Toby Price.
Argentine Benavides has yet to
win a stage, but he ties with Klein
for second in the overall heading
into stage nine, while Price tri-
umphed on the Prologue and has
featured consistently inside the
IN
THE
WIND
P46
Skyler Howes has
kept out of trouble
and his reward is the
lead of the rally with
six stages to go.
