Five things we learned from stage eight of Dakar 2023

The first marathon stage of this year’s Dakar brings to a close the first week of competition. For many, it certainly feels like they’re coming off a wild roller coaster and the upcoming rest will give plenty a chance to recharge and reset for the final week of competition en route to Dammam.

Molly Taylor and Andrew Short en route to sixth place for the day on stage eight. Photo: Fr..d..ric Le Floc...h/DPPI/LiveMedia Credit: IPA/Sipa USA

1. Molly has her best stage finish of the rally so far

It’s all smiles today for Molly Taylor and her American navigator Andrew Short after the pair finished the eighth stage an outstanding sixth in the T4 Modified Production SSV class, 4’33” behind eventual stage winner and South Racing Can-Am teammates, Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli and Pedro Gonzalo Rinaldi.

But as usual, it wasn’t without drama, as it always happens in this rally. Molly was battling with a long brake pedal for much of the stage, meaning that the retardation when trying to stop or slow down wasn’t immediate and she had to find creative ways to negotiate the dunes. Then, as she went over the top of one of the dunes, she got hit in the passenger door by a Toyota Hilux, damaging the door and losing some parts that are stored in the cavity in the process.

Nonetheless, this was an impressive end to the first week for the Sydney-born driver following a difficult start to her campaign. In the overall standings, she sits 5’26” outside the top 10 in 11th position. Can she finish in the top ten? We believe she can!

2. Chucky storms back into form, as Toby has an off day

The unexpected rest day for the bikes and quads following the cancellation of stage seven was welcome relief for many competitors, but none more so than Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders.

Daniel Sanders was fully re-energised heading into stage eight. Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI/LiveMedia Credit: IPA/Sipa USA

We’ve touched on many times about his food poisoning a few days before, so we welcomed the news that the extra rest would help re-energise the Victorian-born GasGas factory rider. And it helped in spades.

Stage eight brought out the best of Chucky in the only way he knows - going out hard and fast. He finished 3’15” behind eventual stage-winner Ross Branch in second for the day and brought him up one spot to seventh overall, 7’03” behind Skyler Howes.

On the flip side, stage eight wasn’t the ideal day for Toby Price. Having welcomed the extra rest, he was hoping to use this stage as one to reel in the gap to current overall leader Skyler Howes. But the KTM factory rider dropped 14 minutes on the stage and finished outside the top ten on the day in 17th place. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one that had an off day. Both Howes and Kevin Benavides finished further down the order, which helped Price’s cause.

Despite finishing 17th in stage eight, Toby Price remains within touch of Skyler Howes heading into the final week. Photo: Gigi Soldano /DPPI/LiveMedia Credit: IPA/Sipa USA

Overall, he has dropped one spot to fourth place, 1’58” behind Howes, who still retains the overall lead. The final week awaits and Toby will be keen to attack for outright glory, as will Chucky.

3. Branch gets redemption with a deserved stage win

Stage four was one to forget for Botswana’s Ross Branch. The Hero Motosport rider was left stranded almost halfway through the stage after running out of fuel due to excessive consumption.

Since then, it’s been very much a case of picking up stage wins where possible and just making it to the end. Overnight, he achieved one of those goals, taking a well-earned stage win to give the Indian manufacturer plenty of smiles after what has been a disastrous campaign so far.

It was all smiles for Ross Branch, who won the eighth stage of Dakar 2023. Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI/LiveMedia Credit: IPA/Sipa USA

Could Branch become a disruptor to some of the outright contenders in the final week of competition? Time will tell.

4. Loeb wins stage eight, but Al-Attiyah still miles ahead out front

French driver Sebastien Loeb and Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the Stage 8 of the Dakar 2023. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) Source: AFP / FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

Sebastian Loeb’s fightback into outright contention continues on in earnest, with a storming drive to take out the eighth stage by 2’11" over current overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah.

The Frenchman also gained two spots in the general classification to now sit fourth overall, with one week of competition to go. But at this point of the rally, unless something catastrophic happens, it’s impossible to see Al-Attiyah beaten for a fifth Dakar win.

The Qatari for Toyota Gazoo Racing sits one hour and 52 minutes ahead of Loeb and his Prodrive prepared BRX Hunter, and all he needs to do is keep maintaining the gap he has over the remaining six stages.

5. Schey brothers close to cracking the top 30 overall in Classic Dakar

It was another day of consistency for Peter and Christopher Schey, as they navigated the eighth stage aboard their Nissan Terrano in the Classic Dakar.

The brothers from Victoria came into stage eight 37th overall in the general classification, following a career-best finish of 19th in the previous stage. Overnight, they finished the day 30th on the road, but had a massive jump of four places to come through 33rd overall in general classification.

The brothers will now enjoy a much-earned rest day alongside their fellow competitors, before they embark on the final six stages of their bucket-list adventure. A top 30 finish is very much a realistic proposition for them now. We wish them the best of luck.

Catch the stage eight highlights tonight from 5pm (AEDT) on SBS and any time on SBS On Demand.