draw from the race on Stage 12.
Until that point, however, Klein,
the Dakar sophomore, was in
dynamic form. Taking the stage
two victory, the 21-year-old
posted consistent top-10 finish
-
es, even when he was one of the
first to
open the track in the early
morning. By stage nine he was
third overall after taking another
third on stage eight, just 13 sec
-
With the top three sealed,
Pablo
Quintanilla and Adrien Van
Beveren kept up the Japanese
honor for Honda in fourth and
fifth, respectively, Van Beveren
scoring his first stage win since
2019 on stage five. However, his
race would also be remembered
for a collision between himself
and Californian Mason Klein
(KTM) on stage nine.
Riding with GasGas' Daniel
Sanders, Van Beveren and Klein
collided towards the end of the
stage at high speed with Klein
coming off the worst, suffer
-
ing wrist and neck injuries that
would
eventually see him with-
(Right) Mason Klein showed just
what the new generation of rally raid
is capable of in Saudi Arabia. The
21-year-old Californian took a stage
win and led the rally early but a crash
would eventually lead to injuries that
forced him out on Stage 12.
ROUND 1 / JANUARY 1-15, 2023
SAUDI ARABIA
P50
OFF-ROAD I FIM RALLY-RAID WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Luciano Benavides
had an excellent
Dakar with three
stage victories, more
than any other rider
including his rally-
winning brother,
Kevin.
Ricky Brabec's Dakar
will be remembered
as the one that got
away. The Californian
started well by winning
stage one but crashed
on stage three and
suffered neck injuries
that ruled him out of
the rest of the rally.
