The 2024 Dakar Rally has only run four stages including the Prologue so far, but it's already been filled with plenty of twists and turns. During Stage Two, Twintrail Racing Team's Carles Falcón crashed out at kilometer 448 of the Special and was airlifted to Al Duwadimi hospital in serious condition.
It was near the end of the stage, and Dakar officials say that an entrant who was just behind Falcón immediately alerted rally organizers, who sent a medical helicopter out immediately. Race director David Castera later told reporters that Falcón did not have a pulse when the medical team arrived, but that the first doctor on scene was able to resuscitate him. We at RideApart wish Falcón a good and swift recovery, and are glad that he was able to get the medical attention he needed so quickly.
Here are the other 2024 Dakar Rally stage and overall winners and storylines so far.
2024 Dakar Prologue, Stage One, Stage Two, and Stage Three Standings
The Prologue opened with a new face up on the top step of the podium. Spanish rider Toscha Schareina and his Honda CRF450 Rally, racing for the Monster Energy Honda Team, finished the Prologue in just 17 minutes and 35 seconds. Veterans Daniel Sanders (Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) and Ross Branch (Hero Motosports Team Rally) took the second and third steps of the podium. Sanders was 12 seconds off the pace, while Branch was 19 seconds off.
Then came Stage One, and it was a different story. Ross Branch took first place on the stage, with a time of four hours, 56 minutes and one second. Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team) took second place and was just 10 minutes and 54 seconds behind Branch. Mason Klein and his Kove 450 Rally for Korr Offroad Racing took the third step of the podium and was just 11 minutes and 19 seconds off the pace.
Honda rider Joaquim Rodrigues crashed at the 82 kilometer mark on the stage, with a medical helicopter coming to his aid. Later on the stage, Toscha Schareina also crashed at the 240 kilometer mark, breaking his left wrist and thus retiring from the 2024 Dakar Rally.
On Stage Two, José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Monster Energy Honda Team) was the top finisher, completing the route from Al Hanakiyah to Al Duwadimi in four hours, 24 minutes, and 17 seconds. He was followed by Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing), who was only five minutes and 59 seconds off the pace. The third step of the podium was taken by Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda Team), who was just six minutes and 12 seconds behind Cornejo.
During both Stage Two and Stage Three, Mason Klein has had significant mechanical issues with his Kove. The bike reportedly arrived just one day ahead of the Prologue stage, so he didn't have much shakedown time before the event. He ended up having to replace the engine once already, and ended up spending a lot of time working on repairs during Stage Three because he didn't want to have to withdraw from the race entirely.
Klein wasn't the only one hit with mechanical issues. Unfortunately for Sam Sunderland, he was forced to retire just 11 kilometers into Stage Three due to mechanical problems with his Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing machine.
While Pablo Quintanilla was announced as the winner of Stage Three at first, multiple speed penalties were handed out by Dakar officials after the completion of the stage. Joan Barreda, Ricky Brabec, Ross Branch, and Quintanilla all ended up with time penalties significant enough to shake up the final standings.
In the end, Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took the Stage Three win, with a time of four hours, 39 minutes, and 28 seconds on the route from Al Duwadimi to Al Salamiya. Ricky Brabec finished in second, with a gap of one minute and 11 seconds behind Benavides. Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda Team) finished in third, just two minutes and 51 seconds off Benavides' time.
2024 Dakar Rally: Overall Bike Standings After The First Three Stages
After the Prologue and first three stages of the 2024 Dakar Rally, here are the provisional bike standings overall.
| Rider | Team | Time |
| Ross Branch (Botswana) | Hero Motosports Team Rally | 14 hours, 32 minutes, 51 seconds |
| José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Chile) | Monster Energy Honda Team | 14 hours, 36 minutes, 02 seconds |
| Ricky Brabec (USA) | Monster Energy Honda Team | 14 hours, 37 minutes, 59 seconds |
| Pablo Quintanilla (Chile) | Monster Energy Honda Team | 14 hours, 49 minutes, 07 seconds |
| Adrien Van Beveren (France) | Monster Energy Honda Team | 14 hours, 53 minutes, 07 seconds |
| Kevin Benavides (Argentina) | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 14 hours, 53 minutes, 23 seconds |
| Toby Price (Australia) | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 14 hours, 55 minutes, 48 seconds |
| Daniel Sanders (Australia) | Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing | 14 hours, 57 minutes, 04 seconds |
| Luciano Benavides (Argentina) | Husqvarna Factory Racing | 14 hours, 59 minutes, 51 seconds |
| Martin Michek (Czech Republic) | Orion Moto Racing Group | 15 hours, 0 minutes, 03 seconds |
It's only January 8, 2024 as we write this. There are nine stages left to go in the 2024 Dakar Rally, including the new monster 48 Hour Empty Quarter marathon stage (Stage Six). What will happen next?
While Dakar Rally organizers are encouraging fans to make predictions, it's anyone's guess what will happen next. The Dakar Rally is good at showing that even the most hardcore, seasoned riders can face mechanical or other issues that shake things up. Stay tuned and we'll keep you up to date with the 2024 Dakar Rally.
