Price was in fact far slower than his key rivals on the latest, Al Duwadimi-Al Salamiya stage, although he was then credited over 18 minutes for stopping to assist Sebastian Bühler, who crashed 360km into the special.
It was not the Australian’s only stop along the day either, given he happened upon Sam Sunderland when the Briton suffered technical problems for his GasGas motorcycle, which came after an early navigational misstep.
“It was quite an eventful stage for me today,” recalled Price, whose Red Bull KTM team-mate Kevin Benavides won the stage.
“I made a small mistake early on, which cost me some time.
“Then I saw Sam at the side of the track; I stopped to make sure he was okay, but it turned out to be a mechanical issue.
Secure your spot today.
“After that, I got my head down and tried to make some good progress.
“I was stuck in the dust of another rider for a fair few kilometres but managed to get past him in the sand and was able to make some good time there.
“Unfortunately, towards the end of the stage, we came across another rider who had crashed, so we stopped to help him, call the helicopter, and make sure nobody else was in danger.
“So, it’s been a bit of an up and down day, but we’re here in the bivouac now, bike is good and getting serviced, and I’m ready for more of the same tomorrow.”
Fellow Australian Daniel Sanders is now eighth overall, 24:13s behind Branch, after setting the 13th-fastest stage time on his Red Bull GasGas entry.
‘Chucky’ said, “I’m feeling good after getting through another tough stage.
“It was another long one under the sunshine, and it was pretty dry out there with a lot of dust. Navigation was tricky too, but we made the best of it.
“No crashes today so myself and the bike are in good shape, which is good as today was the first leg of a marathon stage.
“I’m looking forward to getting some decent sleep tonight and then I’ll be out to the attack tomorrow’s stage.”
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