Price saw his overall advantage reduced to just 12 seconds after Red Bull KTM teammate Benavides led the way in the 675-kilometre journey to Al-Hofuf.
There had been some uncertainty surrounding Benavides’ official time, with the 34-year-old only named the fastest after being credited with 23’10” for assisting injured teammate Matthias Walkner.
The time difference means Price will now have little room for error in the final stage, having lost 2’28” for his fifth-place finish behind Adrien van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda), Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), Michael Docherty (HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing) and winner, Kevin.
Speaking after the stage, the Australian admitted he’d made “an absolute mess” of his performance on the sand but remains prepared to give 100 per cent in the sprint to Dammam.
“I made one little mistake probably around 130[km] there,” Price said. “We went too far right on a cap and I could just see everything ending there.
“At this stage, we just needed to really push where we could and tried to see if we could keep the lead going into the last stage.
“We had one crash as well – I was looking at the top of a dune to start climbing it and there was a sharp little bank and I just lost the front and fell over – so it feels like I made an absolute mess of it today but if I can keep the lead, I’ll be one happy man.”
“The last lot of dunes have been really soft,” he continued. “You can get stuck really easily, and today was like really long caps, so it was really difficult to try and keep on the cap heading.
“I caught the guys around 90[km] and then I just thought to myself, ‘If I want to win this race, I need to be at the front and try and capture that bonus time a little bit because I think the guys are going to catch at the back.
“We pushed hard all day and we’ve just got one day to go and I guess whatever position it puts us in is the end of the race.
“But, all in all, I’m happy. I know I’ve put in a hundred per cent every day and done what I could and made a good strategy of the race and, all in all, I feel really good and really happy.”
Despite losing time to his rivals in the general classification, the two-time winner will still be the last rider to tackle the 417-kilometre stage, with the order reversed on the final day.
Catch the stage highlights tonight from 5pm (AEDT) on SBS and any time on SBS On Demand.
