Dakar Stage 9: Loeb wins his 3rd stage, Sainz crashes out
Sebastien Loeb took victory on Stage 9 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, after Carlos Sainz Sr. suffered a major crash and Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah extended his overall lead to 1hr21m57s.
With his third stage win, Loeb has moved up to 3rd in the overall standings, but out of reach of the leader.
Sainz was involved in a major shunt just six kilometers into the stage when his car rolled upside down while tackling a dune.
Bikesm Howes leads Price by just three seconds after 9 Stages
Toby Price has reduced Skyler Howes’ Dakar Rally lead to just three seconds after finishing second to Luciano Benavides on Stage 9.
While Benavides is out of contention for event victory, Price started the day three positions and 1m58s seconds behind Howes and beat the other Husqvarna Factory Racing rider in the field by 1m55s seconds on Stage 9.
Joan Barreda Bort (Monster Energy JB Honda) crashed out of the race just 16km into the special was airlifted to the hospital.
Car Overall Standings after Stage 9
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time/Behind |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota | 34hr19m20s |
| 2 | Lucas Moraes | Toyota | +1hr21m57s |
| 3 | Sebastien Loeb | Prodrive | +1hr43m08s |
| 4 | Henk Lategan | Toyota | +1hr46m23s |
| 5 | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota | +2hr04m17s |
| 6 | Romain Dumas | Rebellion | +2hr25m51s |
| 7 | Martin Prokop | Benzina | +2hr45m36s |
| 8 | Brian Baragwanath | Century | +2hr48m06s |
| 9 | Wei Han | SMG | +3hr32m15s |
| 10 | Juan Cruz Yacopini | Toyota | +3hr52m52s |
Bikes Overall Standings after Stage 9
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Behind |
| 1 | Skyler HOWES | USA | Husqvarna Factory Racing | 33hr55m57s |
| 2 | Toby PRICE | AUS | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0hr00m03s |
| 3 | Kevin BENAVIDES | ARG | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | +0hr05m09s |
| 4 | Adrien VAN BEVEREN | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | +0hr15m40s |
| 5 | Pablo QUINTANILLA | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | +0hr18m24s |
| 6 | Mason KLEIN | USA | BAS World KTM Racing Team | +0hr18m42s |
| 7 | Luciano BENAVIDES | ARG | Husqvarna Factory Racing | +0hr21m35s |
| 8 | Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | +0hr22m47s |
| 9 | Daniel SANDERS | AUS | Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing | +0hr23m47s |
| 10 | Lorenzo SANTOLINO | ESP | Sherco Factory | +0hr40m38s |