The second half of the Dakar Rally was the end of the road for the 2024 World Rally-Raid Champions in the bike classes. RallyGP champ Ross Branch and Rally2 titlist-turned-RallyGP rookie Bradley Cox were both knocked out of Stage #6 by crashes.

Branch had been fourth overall entering Saturday’s stage, but crashed just 48 kilometers in. Ricky Brabec, who beat him for the 2024 Dakar bike win and ultimately went on to win Stage #6, spotted Branch.

“I saw where he crashed and pushed the rescue button,” Brabec explained. “I saw the helicopter was just across the valley so I figured for me, it was better to ride across to it for a few kilometers and get the helicopter rather than try to phone them.”

He was airlifted to a hospital in Ha’il, where his CT scans came back all clear save for some bruises and a mild concussion.

“That’s the end of the rally for me, and I’m really disappointed to say that,” said Branch. “We worked tirelessly all year, putting in countless hours of training and effort into the bike. The team did everything they could, and I’m grateful for that.

“Unfortunately, this is a part of the sport, and today it happened to me. I’m thankful to be in one piece and will focus on recovering and getting fit for the next race.”

Cox, from neighboring South Africa and 11th in RallyGP, crashed just 100 meters in and attempted to continue from there. However, the impact resulted in neck pain that started to bother him until he called it quits 50 kilometers later. Initial evaluations cleared him of major injury, though he was taken to a Riyadh hospital for further check-up.

The cars were not safe from drama either, and the trucks were basically a write-off. Most of the T5.1 trucks, which are competitors as opposed to their assistance counterparts in T5.2, struggled to get across the first dunes.

X-raid Team had a bittersweet day. Guillaume de Mévius became the first FIA stage winner not from Toyota as he and João Ferreira completed a 1–2 finish for Mini, the first Dakar stage win for X-raid since 2021. On the other hand, Guerlain Chicherit missed a bump in the road that launched his car into multiple rollovers, knocking him out of the race. Vladas Jurkevičius also retired with a technical issue.

Giniel de Villiers’ final Dakar with Toyota, which had already been set back by a crash in Stage #2, ended for good when his navigator Dirk Von Zitzewitz was advised not to continue because of neck pain. Von Zitzewitz had retired from full-time navigating after 2023 due to multiple injuries. Fellow Hilux driver Toby Price exited after his navigator Sam Sunderland suffered a concussion on Thursday that worsened two days later.

“We kept (it) on the down low because he really wanted to soldier on like the true fighter he is,” Price wrote. “Today we had an issue with the car that pushed us back into the dust with poor visibility and Sammy took another blow to the head, losing vision and making his concussion worse. I feel it’s not fair to keep going because we have so much more to lose than gain.

“It’s a shame to finish like this and we’re both gutted. We can fix cars but not humans, and Sam is family to me so his health comes first. We can’t thank everyone enough for their support, especially Black Rock Motor Resort and Overdrive Racing.

“It means the world to us and we wouldn’t be here without each and every partner that helped bring this to life! Hopefully this won’t be our last one, time will only tell and thank you all again, it’s been a wild ride!”

Wei Han’s HW2025 burst into flames, knocking him out of the race. He and Li Ma were able to escape the fire safely, though their race is now over. Rally2 rider Robbie Wallace spotted the blaze and noted they “just sat watching their pride and joy burn. Quite sad really.”

While cars and bikes were on the same route (something that will change for most legs in the second half), Stage #6 still offered a quirky yet challenging layout. The Selective Section was split into two, separated by a 171-km transfer section, whereas the dunes in the second half caused many to get lost or trapped.

Some didn’t return to the bivouac until it was dark, and others well into the early hours on Sunday. The Coronels, for example, had two empty batteries stemming from broken dynamos, leaving them stuck in the dunes before finally arriving by dawn the next day.

Dave and Tessa Klaassen were just 50 kilometers from the finish when they stopped to attend to an injured rider, triggering what ended up being an hours-long rescue operation. According to Tessa, they had encountered the rider at the top of the dune who had been there for the past half hour and was “totally exhausted and couldn’t stand on his feet or almost talk.” After calling the ASO for help (which could not be done by air in the dark, save for one that dropped supplies), the Klaassens moved the rider out of harm’s way and waited for three hours, during which they were “waving with lights to the other race vehicles to take another route as some already did bumped into our way.” In the meantime, they bundled him inside a medical blanket and two sleeping bags to keep him warm.

A rescue vehicle eventually arrived after another three hours, only to find out it could not reach them because of how high up they were. The rider was driven down the dune in Klaassen’s REVO T1+, while Tessa went out to help another bike. Once everything was resolved, the Klaassens rejoined the race and arrived at the finish just past midnight.

Stage #6 winners

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
Ultimate	1	222	Guillaume de Mévius	X-raid Mini JCW Team	4:34:49
Challenger	24	300	Yasir Seaidan	BBR Motorsport	5:04:21
SSV	34	404	Francisco López Contardo	Can-Am Factory Team	5:17:35
Stock	127	501	Ronald Basso*	Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body	9:27:55
Truck	33	602	Mitchel van den Brink*	Eurol Rally Sport	5:17:19

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
RallyGP	1	9	Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda Team	5:00:51
Rally2	12	96	Tobias Ebster	BAS World KTM Racing Team	5:09:06

Other

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Dakar Classic	714	Juraj Šebalj	CRO Dakar Classic Team	48
Mission 1000	1030	Yoshio Ikemachi	HySE	30*

Leaders after Stage #6

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
Ultimate	1	211	Henk Lategan	Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa	32:51:36
Challenger	13	301	Nicolás Cavigliasso	BBR Motorsport	35:57:59
SSV	22	425	Brock Heger*	Sébastien Loeb Racing	37:21:01
Stock	90	501	Ronald Basso*	Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body	52:18:08
Truck	17	600	Martin Macík Jr.*	MM Technology	36:35:08

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
RallyGP	1	4	Daniel Sanders	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	35:18:49
Rally2	10	73	Edgar Canet	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	36:35:48

Other

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Dakar Classic	700	Carlos Santaolalla	Factory Tub	454
Mission 1000	1040	Jordi Juvanteny	KH-7 Ecovergy Team	140

Featured image credit: Hero MotoSports