The Dakar 2023 celebrates its winners

The checkered flag of the 2023 Dakar Rally fell on Sunday after 5,000 kilometers against the clock and 14 stages through Saudi Arabia, from the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf and through the Empty Quarter desert.

The longer the two-week rally lasted, the clearer it became that no one could stop Al-Attiyah from claiming his fifth Dakar title. The Qatari harmonized perfectly with his co-driver Mathieu Baumel and their Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+. The 52-year-old said, "It was a difficult Dakar for everyone. It's crazy that I managed to defend my title. I'm very happy to have won five times." Nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb was the closest to Al-Attiyah, as the Frenchman won six consecutive stages with his co-driver Fabian Lurquin in the BRX Hunter and had to settle for second place. The 48-year-old said, "We also set a new record for stage wins, so it's not too bad." The biggest surprise came from Brazilian rookie Lucas Moraes and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk, who finished third overall on their debut in a Hilux. The 31-year-old said, "A place on the podium is important for the Brazilian rally community because it's never happened before." Toyota Gazoo Racing duo Giniel De Villiers/Dennis Murphy finished fourth, while Kuba Przygoński/Armand Monleon and Laia Sanz/Maurizio Gerini also finished, with Sanz maintaining her record of finishing all 13 Dakar editions in which she has participated on motorcycle and car. The Swedes Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist represented Team Audi Sport on the podium of the final leg but their Audi teammates and Dakar legends Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz had to end the rally early this time.

This year's motorcycle race was decided only in the final kilometers, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Benavides now having won two of the four editions held in Saudi Arabia. The 34-year-old Argentine said:

"It's incredible to come out on top at the end of this completely crazy Dakar."

Before the 14th stage, Benavides' Australian teammate Price led by 12 seconds but slipped to 43 seconds. American Skyler Howes was third and Australian Daniel Sanders of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, who had led the rally in the first week, was seventh. Also in 12th place was Štefan Svitko, while Mohammed Balooshi completed his fourth Dakar and the injured Matthias Walkner, Sam Sunderland and Camille Chapelière will hopefully recover quickly.

The young Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich not only finished first and second in the overall T3 standings, but also won more than half of the 14 stages run.

Winner of last year's T4 race, Jones was competing in the T3 classification for the first time this time around in his Can-Am Maverick, and the Arizonan did not disappoint. The 26-year-old said, "Kudos to the whole team and all the work that goes on behind the scenes. We couldn't do it without the help of these guys. My co-driver Gustavo has done a great job. We did it two years in a row!" The 20-year-old Californian was pushed hard by fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA member Seth Quintero presented by BFGoodrich and his co-driver Dennis Zenz, and was forced to retire in the first week due to technical problems and water in the tank. He said, "To finally be able to drive through all the stages of the Dakar is a great feeling." The team's third team, Mitch Guthrie Jr. and co-driver Kellon Walch, took five stage wins and sacrificed their own attack on a sixth stage to help teammate Rokas Baciuška, who ran into trouble in race T4. The podium was completed by Guillaume De Mevius and François Cazalet. The Belgian said, "I'm a little frustrated, although the victory was within reach." Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team crews Cristina Gutiérrez/Pablo Moreno and Chaleco López/Juan Pablo Latrach finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Unfortunately for Baciuška and his co-driver Oriol Vidal, the 23-year-old was unable to maintain his overall lead as young Polish rider Eryk Goczal took advantage of the Lithuanian's problems in the 14th stage and relegated him to second place at 16:44.

Selected final overall ranking

T1 car class

1st Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) TOYOTA 45:03:15

2 - Sébastien Loeb (FRA) BRX +01:20:49

3rd Lucas Moraes (BRA) TOYOTA +01:38:31

4th Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) TOYOTA +02:31:12

14th Mattias Ekström (SWE) AUDI +06:51:00

18th Cuba Przygoński (POL) MINI +07:28:50

32nd Laia Sanz (ESP) ASTARA +19:18:39

Motorcycles

1st Kevin Benavides (ARG) KTM 44:27:20

2nd Toby Price (AUS) KTM +00:43

3rd Skyler Howes (USA) HUSQVARNA +05:04

7th Daniel Sanders (AUS) GASGAS +25:57

12. Štefan Svitko (SVK) KTM +01:50:42

35th Mohammed Balooshi (ARE) HUSQVARNA +09:54:18

T3 lightweight prototype

1st AJ Jones (USA) CAN-AM 51:55:53

2nd Seth Quintero (USA) CAN-AM +52:05

3rd Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) OT3 +01:35:42

4. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) CAN-AM +02:56:20

5 Chaleco López (CHL) CAN-AM +02:59:48

10th Ignacio Casale (CHL) YAMAHA +06:53:27

23rd Mitch Guthrie Jr (USA) MCE5 +27:58:08

T4 SSV

1st Eryk Goczal (POL) CAN-AM 53:10:14

2nd Rokas Baciuška (LTU) CAN-AM +16:44

3. Marek Goczal (POL) CAN-AM +18:15