Overview
- Benavides completed the special in 4:05:16 to beat Ignacio Cornejo and provisional leader Daniel Sanders on the second leg of the marathon stage to Ha’il.
- With the win, he closed the gap to Sanders to 5 minutes 55 seconds and moved into the fight for the overall podium.
- The victory is Benavides’s sixth career Dakar stage win, extending the Argentine family’s record as the country’s only moto stage winners.
- Stage 6 runs from Hail to Riyadh with a 589 km liaison and a 331 km special, followed by a scheduled rest day.
- In the challenger category, Kevin Benavides placed ninth on Stage 5 and sits 13th overall, with Lucas del Río taking the stage and Pau Navarro leading the class.