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Under the new-for-2024 concept, competitors contest Stage 6 over two days, riding to whichever bivouac is nearest to them after the clock reaches 16:00 local time.
There, they will spend the night before setting off the next day to complete the remainder of the 626km special at Shubaytah.
In a further twist, though, they will sleep without access to any timing and hence do not have an accurate picture of where they stand in the event.
Thus far, 10 riders in the top, RallyGP class have made it to Bivouac F, which is located 513km into the special, with Monster Energy Honda’s Van Beveren fastest to that point.
His team-mate Ricky Brabec is currently second on stage, 1:21s behind the Frenchman but currently quick enough to be back in the lead of the ‘virtual’ (ie as-live) general classification.
As it stands, Brabec has overtaken Hero Motorsports’ Ross Branch at the top of the general classification, which he would lead by 2:48s if margins stay the same for the remaining 113km of the special on Friday (local time).
Price is third on the day on his Red Bull KTM, 1:49s behind Van Beveren, and fellow Australian Daniel Sanders is fourth on his Red Bull GasGas at another 1:43s in arrears.
Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing) is fifth as at Bivouac F and Branch sixth.
While some riders are not as far into the special as others, the aforementioned six have held the same or similar positions at recent waypoints and hence can be considered the genuine front-runners of the stage so far.
On current times, then, the general classification has Brabec leading Branch, from Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Monster Energy Honda, +6:37s), and Van Beveren (+13:02s).
Price is up two positions to fifth in the live general classification at 28:17s off the lead, with Red Bull KTM team-mate Kevin Benavides slipping one position to sixth at another 11 seconds in arrears.
No longer, though, are Red Bull KTM’s riders separated in the standings by Pablo Quintanilla, who won the previous stage and thus had the benefit of starting last of the 17 RallyGP riders today.
On a day when fuel consumption has proven a challenge for Cars and Bikes, his Monster Energy Honda simply ran dry around 184km into the special.
Quintanilla, who lost more than an hour due to the drama, said when he finally reached the first refuel point, “It’s a sad moment.
“I was being careful with my fuel but 10km before the refuelling point, I ran out of petrol.
“It’s tough when you’ve worked so hard and so long for this race. I always try to do my best, but that’s life. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Sanders is, of course, another beneficiary of the Chilean’s mishap.
‘Chucky’ is seventh in the live general classification with 113km remaining for him in the special tomorrow, but still 36:08s behind Brabec.
