Luciano’s brother, Kevin, entered the first day of Marathon competition first in the overall rankings but slid back to third following the 274-kilometre special in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter.
Kevin is now 2’44” behind Husqvarna’s Skyler Howes at the top of the pile, with his Red Bull KTM teammate Price up to second after the two-time Dakar winner finished third in the stage.
An issue with his beacon not transmitting threatened to undo Price’s hard work during the route but he still managed to finish 1’56” off the pace of Luciano, who held his lead since the 142nd kilometre.
“It looks like there was a bit of a navigation error earlier on, which I kind of avoided,” said Price, who was the 19th rider to start the stage.
“I went a little bit right again but fixed it quite quickly, so I feel like we didn’t lose too much. Looks like it’s not a bad result, having to be able to not open out tomorrow.
“We’ll just keep fighting, there’s still a long way to go, and see what we can come up with.”
Sanders, meanwhile, had one of his best days in the dunes, finishing second and 1’38” behind Luciano to lift the GasGas rider up to seventh overall.
The 28-year-old was delighted to be back pushing his peers at the pointy end of the race, having only recently returned to elite-level competition after being sidelined with significant injuries to his elbow and wrist.
“It was good to push and learn the pace again and push out front – that was good fun,” Sanders said.
“I think we’re in a good spot for tomorrow. It was just good fun out there. It was pretty hot and demanding, but it was good fun. The big dunes were alright.”
Another 376-kilometre trek through the Empty Quarter awaits the Australian duo on Stage 12, with Price sitting just 28 seconds off Howes as the rally raid reaches its final few days.
Catch the stage highlights tonight from 5pm (AEDT) on SBS and any time on SBS On Demand.
