Even if the temptation is great to feel like a tourist in view of Argentina's natural beauty - reddish colored earth, exhilarating slopes, diving into canyons - the participants also have to step on the gas during this stage and watch out for 1001 stones and rocks that could get in the way. Some still have the second stage in their bones. Certain teams are still on yesterday's route, which had to spend the night in the dunes and are now on the way to bivouac, so as not to miss the start of the next stage.
Cars
At 7:20 a.m. Nasser Al-Attiyah opens the third leg in the rally cars. The Qatari can now drive away from the front and distance his stablemate. For Peugeot with Carlos Sainz, already 20 minutes behind, or even Stéphane Peterhansel or Cyril Despres, who are more than an hour behind, it is slowly becoming more difficult. The South African Giniel de Villiers seems to be determined today and leads at the first checkpoint, his compatriot Leeroy Poulter, however, loses 45 minutes on him until then and the Frenchman Christian Lavieille on Toyota Hilux arrives at CP1 in eighth position. De Villiers can claim a small victory when he crosses the finish line 2 minutes 24 ahead of the Qatari and overall leader Al-Attiyah. But today's race clearly goes to the Argentinean Orlando Terranova. So again the Minis and Toyotas dominated, but the Peigeos are slowly closing in. 34 cars could not start today including the women's group with the pink Isuzu 4×4 and the drivers Catherine Houlès and Sandrine Ridet.
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference |
| 1 | 305 | TERRANOVA (ARG), GRAY (ARG) | MINI | 002:57:28 | |
| 2 | 303 | DE VILLIERS (ZAF), VON ZITZEWITZ (DEU) | TOYOTA | 002:59:22 | 00:01:54 |
| 3 | 325 | ALRAJHI (SAU), GOTTSCHALK (DEU) | TOYOTA | 003:00:20 | 00:02:52 |
| 4 | 304 | SAINZ (ESP), CRUZ (ESP) | PEUGEOT | 003:01:34 | 00:04:06 |
| 5 | 301 | AL-ATTIYAH (QAT), BAUMEL (FRA) | MINI | 003:01:46 | 00:04:18 |
| 6 | 300 | ROMA (ESP), PÉRIN (FRA) | MINI | 003:03:26 | 00:05:58 |
| 7 | 302 | PETERHANSEL (FRA), COTTRET (FRA) | PEUGEOT | 003:06:54 | 00:09:26 |
| 8 | 314 | VAN LOON (NLD), ROSEGAAR (NLD) | MINI | 003:09:25 | 00:11:57 |
| 9 | 320 | CHABOT (FRA), PILLOT (FRA) | SMG | 003:13:17 | 00:15:49 |
| 10 | 309 | LAVIEILLE (FRA), MAIMON (FRA) | TOYOTA | 003:13:56 | 00:16:28 |
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference | Penalty minutes |
| 1 | 301 | AL-ATTIYAH (QAT), BAUMEL (FRA) | MINI | 009:21:26 | | 00:02:00 |
| 2 | 303 | DE VILLIERS (ZAF), VON ZITZEWITZ (DEU) | TOYOTA | 009:26:44 | 00:05:18 | |
| 3 | 305 | TERRANOVA (ARG), GRAY (ARG) | MINI | 009:39:31 | 00:18:05 | |
| 4 | 304 | SAINZ (ESP), CRUZ (ESP) | PEUGEOT | 009:40:58 | 00:19:32 | |
| 5 | 325 | ALRAJHI (SAU), GOTTSCHALK (DEU) | TOYOTA | 009:41:34 | 00:20:08 | |
| 6 | 307 | HOLOWCZYC (POL), PANSERI (FRA) | MINI | 009:46:50 | 00:25:24 | |
| 7 | 314 | VAN LOON (NLD), ROSEGAAR (NLD) | MINI | 009:49:09 | 00:27:43 | |
| 8 | 315 | TEN BRINKE (NLD), COLSOUL (BEL) | TOYOTA | 009:57:48 | 00:36:22 | |
| 9 | 306 | SOUSA (PRT), FIUZA (PRT) | MITSUBISHI | 010:03:18 | 00:41:52 | |
| 10 | 309 | LAVIEILLE (FRA), MAIMON (FRA) | TOYOTA | 010:05:04 | 00:43:38 | |
Bikes
With a lead over his teammate Gonçalves, Joan Barreda couldn't ask for a better start to the rally, but he knows the rally is still long. Nevertheless, he knows how to maintain his leading position and is the first to arrive at the second checkpoint. Toby Price and Matthias Walkner arrive about a minute later and prove to be real contenders for top positions in the Dakar. Meanwhile, Marc Coma and Gon4alves are also within striking distance of Barreda. But today, three-time MX1/MX3 world champion Matthias Walkner from Austria can prove what he is capable of and wins the third stage ahead of Coma and Barreda. A tragic fate befalls the Polish rider Michal Hernik, he is found lifeless 300 meters from the track at kilometer 206.
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference |
| 1 | 027 | WALKNER (AUT) | KTM | 002:34:28 | |
| 2 | 001 | COMA (ESP) | KTM | 002:35:08 | 00:00:40 |
| 3 | 002 | BARREDA BORT (ESP) | HONDA | 002:36:21 | 00:01:53 |
| 4 | 026 | PRICE (AUS) | KTM | 002:37:13 | 00:02:45 |
| 5 | 007 | GONÇALVES (PRT) | HONDA | 002:37:17 | 00:02:49 |
| 6 | 014 | DUCLOS (FRA) | SHERCO TVS | 002:37:39 | 00:03:11 |
| 7 | 011 | FARIA (PRT) | KTM | 002:37:54 | 00:03:26 |
| 8 | 012 | ISRAEL ESQUERRE (CHL) | HONDA | 002:38:30 | 00:04:02 |
| 9 | 004 | VILADOMS (ESP) | KTM | 002:39:04 | 00:04:36 |
| 10 | 010 | PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) | YAMAHA | 002:39:49 | 00:05:21 |
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference |
| 1 | 002 | BARREDA BORT (ESP) | HONDA | 009:43:05 | |
| 2 | 007 | GONÇALVES (PRT) | HONDA | 009:48:38 | 00:05:33 |
| 3 | 027 | WALKNER (AUT) | KTM | 009:53:38 | 00:10:33 |
| 4 | 001 | COMA (ESP) | KTM | 009:53:55 | 00:10:50 |
| 5 | 011 | FARIA (PRT) | KTM | 009:55:15 | 00:12:10 |
| 6 | 026 | PRICE (AUS) | KTM | 009:55:29 | 00:12:24 |
| 7 | 004 | VILADOMS (ESP) | KTM | 009:57:12 | 00:14:07 |
| 8 | 012 | ISRAEL ESQUERRE (CHL) | HONDA | 010:01:38 | 00:18:33 |
| 9 | 005 | RODRIGUES (PRT) | HONDA | 010:01:39 | 00:18:34 |
| 10 | 010 | PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) | YAMAHA | 010:06:07 | 00:23:02 |
Quads
After yesterday's victory, the Pole Sonik confidently enters the race and opens the day for the quads. The defending champion Ignacio Casale hangs behind and already loses 20 minutes to the Specila. In the first half, the Argentine Sebastian Halpern presents himself as the fastest quad rider of the stage and has already gained 45 seconds on the Pole Sonik. Starting in 15th place, Lucas Bonetto's day ends today with his first Dakar victory.
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference |
| 1 | 258 | BONETTO (ARG) | HONDA | 003:08:27 | |
| 2 | 255 | HALPERN (ARG) | YAMAHA | 003:09:25 | 00:00:58 |
| 3 | 251 | SONIK (POL) | YAMAHA | 003:10:41 | 00:02:14 |
| 4 | 269 | GONZALEZ (ARG) | YAMAHA | 003:10:41 | 00:02:14 |
| 5 | 253 | ABU-ISSA (QAT) | HONDA | 003:10:56 | 00:02:29 |
| 6 | 252 | LAFUENTE (URY) | YAMAHA | 003:11:06 | 00:02:39 |
| 7 | 256 | SANABRIA GALEANO (PRY) | YAMAHA | 003:12:46 | 00:04:19 |
| 8 | 250 | CASALE (CHL) | YAMAHA | 003:13:21 | 00:04:54 |
| 9 | 270 | DOMASZEWSKI (ARG) | HONDA | 003:18:01 | 00:09:34 |
| 10 | 283 | NOSIGLIA (BOL) | HONDA | 003:18:19 | 00:09:52 |
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference | Penalty minutes |
| 1 | 252 | Sergio Lafuente (URY) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 11:43:15 | | |
| 2 | 255 | Sebastian Halpern (ARG) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 11:50:43 | 7:28 | |
| 3 | 251 | Rafal Sonik (POL) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 11:53:20 | 10:05 | 15:00 |
| 4 | 253 | Mohammed Abu-Issa (KAT) | Honda TRX 700 | 11.59.53 | 16:38 | |
| 5 | 250 | Ignacio Casale (CHL) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 12:03:26 | 20:11 | 20:00 |
| 6 | 269 | Gaston Gonzalez (ARG) | Yamaha YFM 700 | 12:05:44 | 22:29 | |
| 7 | 256 | Nelson Sanabria Galeano (PRY) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 12:20:54 | 37:39 | |
| 8 | 262 | Sergei Karyakin (RUS) | Yamaha Raptor | 12:23.24 | 40.09 | |
| 9 | 283 | Walter Nosiglia (BOL) | Honda TRX 700 XX | 12:27:39 | 44:24 | |
| 10 | 272 | Pablo Copetti (ARG) | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 12:28:04s | 44:49 | |
Trucks
After finishing 6th in the first stage and 3rd in the second stage, Russian Airat Mardeev won the stage today and took the overall lead. During the day he managed to gain a lead of almost two minutes over Karginov and four and a half minutes over De Rooy. He currently has a cushion of around eight and a half minutes on the second-placed rider.
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference |
| 1 | 507 | MARDEEV (RUS), BELYAEV (RUS), SVISTUNOV (RUS) | KAMAZ | 003:19:06 | |
| 2 | 500 | KARGINOV (RUS), MOKEEV (RUS), LEONOV (RUS) | KAMAZ | 003:20:57 | 00:01:51 |
| 3 | 501 | De Rooy (NLD), Rodewald (POL), Damen (BEL) | Iveco | 003:23:36 | 00:04:30 |
| 4 | 503 | LOPRAIS (CZE), MARCO ALCAYNA (ESP), VAN DER VAET (BEL) | MAN | 003:26:06 | 00:07:00 |
| 5 | 520 | SOTNIKOV (RUS), DEVYATKIN (RUS), AFERIN (RUS) | KAMAZ | 003:26:38 | 00:07:32 |
| Rank | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Travel time | Difference | Penalty minutes |
| 1 | 507 | MARDEEV (RUS), BELYAEV (RUS), SVISTUNOV (RUS) | KAMAZ | 008:26:22 | | |
| 2 | 503 | LOPRAIS (CZE), MARCO ALCAYNA (ESP), VAN DER VAET (BEL) | MAN | 008:34:17 | 00:07:58 | |
| 3 | 500 | KARGINOV (RUS), MOKEEV (RUS), LEONOV (RUS) | KAMAZ | 008:34:29 | 00:08:07 | |
| 4 | 502 | NIKOLAEV (RUS), YAKOVLEV (RUS), AKHMADEEV (RUS) | KAMAZ | 008:34:44 | 00:08:22 | 00:00:30 |
| 5 | 506 | KOLOMY (CZE), KILIAN (CZE), KILIAN (CZE) | TATRA | 008:35:14 | 00:08:52 | |
English 
Deutsch 
Français 
Español 
Italiano