It was certainly a good day for the top Honda and KTM riders as the 2023 Dakar Rally kicked off, these men between them sharing the top five positions.
Special stage number one at the Dakar Rally 2023 brought 369 kilometres of action throughout sandy and stony tracks, with start point and arrival at the Sea Camp bivouac – close to Yanbu (South Arabia).
American Honda rider Ricky Brabec (pictured) was the stage winner on day, with KTM riders Kevin Benavides (Argentina) and Mason Klein (United States) close behind, this trio taking the early spotlight.
With this result, Brabec – the 2020 Dakar winner – gets into first position in the overall standings. His Monster Energy Honda team-mates also stood out with Pablo Quintanilla (Chile) seventh, Adrien Van Beveren (France) was ranked ninth and José Ignacio Cornejo – who had the hard mission to open the stage – finished in 10th place in this first stage.
“Goal number one was not to open the stage,” said Brabec afterwards. “I feel quite well and confident after today, but I will just try to go day by day, keep pace and stay in the top 10. It’s going to be hard to be out of the lead – like we saw today – but we have to see how it goes until the rest day. Today was fairly simple, no stress, it was a great day.”
The second stage from this year’s Dakar Rally will leave the Sea Camp in the direction of Al-Ula.
This special stage will have 430 kilometres of closed tracks demanding great handling skills, so riders will get mainly dirt tracks (59%), stones (26%) and just a little taste of sand (14% sand tracks and one percent of dunes).
Besides this competitive section, there is also another 159 kilometres of liaison. Navigation will be key as participants reach the splendid canyons and beautiful landscapes near the finish.
According to the ASO organisation, the stage will be decided on the dunes, with some of the majestic Nabataean temples visible on the landscape.
Leading standings after day one:
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap | |
| 1 | Brabec Ricky | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 03h31m10s | |
| 2 | Benavides Kevin | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 03h31m54s | |
| 3 | Klein Mason | USA | BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM | KTM | 03h31m54s | |
| 4 | Barreda Joan | AND | Monster Energy Joan Barreda Team | Honda | 03h32m20s | |
| 5 | Price Toby | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 03h31m10s | |
| 6 | Sanders Daniel | AUS | Gas Gas Factory Team | Gas Gas | 03h32m59s | |
| 7 | Quintanilla Pablo | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 03h33m07s | |
| 8 | Howes Skyler | USA | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | 03h34m17s |
Photo courtesy Honda
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