Neels Theric’s chances at winning the Dakar’s Rally2 overall were dashed from the beginning when electrical issues struck in the Prologue. While he no longer has a shot barring divine intervention, he’s still competing for pride by racking up strong results each day and reaching the finish.

Indeed, he achieved his best run to date on Wednesday when he won his class in a wild Stage 4 where many riders were taken out by crashes. It is the first stage victory for Kove Moto.

Despite starting 25th for Rally2 riders, Theric was already second through the first split at KM 43 behind overall leader Michael Docherty. Docherty would eventually be eliminated by a broken wheel at the 199-kilometer mark, moving Theric into first. Theric led the rest of the way and beat Toni Mulec by 7:35 for the stage win.

Mulec’s runner-up and Khaliunbold Erdenebileg’s seventh were silver linings in an otherwise disastrous day for BAS World KTM Racing Team. Besides Docherty’s retirement, Mathieu Dovèze crashed out at KM 84 while running fifth, suffering a broken collarbone and concussion. Brandon Krause crashed into a rock slab at KM 250 while going 85 miles per hour, breaking his tailbone and cutting short his Dakar debut. Jiří Brož had already been out since hurting his head in a Stage 2 crash and formally retired on Wednesday, but is staying in Saudi Arabia to support Ondřej Klymčiw in the Dakar Classic.

“It is what it is. Things don’t always go as planned,” said Brož.

If it is any consolation for the team, Docherty can continue the race in Stage 6. Of course, he can no longer in the overall picture. He wasn’t the only Rally2 overall leader to fall on Wednesday as Martim Ventura hit a rock and suffered a mechanical issue that dropped him to 57th in class for the day. Unlike Docherty, Ventura was able to solve the problem and reach the finish, even if now in an hour-and-a-half hole.

In spite of Ventura’s issues, Stage 4 was a pretty solid outing for Honda HRC. His teammate and Docherty’s troubles coupled with his own third-place run propelled Preston Campbell from third to the overall lead in Rally2 with 18:38 on Mulec.

“I will try to go as fast I can tomorrow but with some caution in mind,” said Campbell. “If I get a gap, it will be awesome. It was a really good day. Tough, long, and feeling good for tomorrow.”

Likewise, Campbell’s RallyGP counterparts were the stars of their class. After spending the first half of the stage chasing down Ross Branch, Tosha Schareina, Ricky Brabec, and Skyler Howes dominated the rest of the way to score an HRC podium sweep. Schareina and Brabec rode together for the final 200 kilometers, while Howes narrowly held off Branch for third by just six seconds.

Contrasting Kove’s success, Hoto Motorcycle—formed from a split with Kove—lost one of their RallyGP riders when Martin Michek to mechanical failures.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi’s repeat dreams were killed when his Hilux had three flats, and he decided to withdraw since he felt he wasn’t at full strength after his injury last year. He had been fighting an uphill battle as he was 19th overall and over 30 minutes behind Mitch Guthrie entering Wednesday.

Guthrie’s time on the FIA throne only lasted a day. After winning Stage 3, he struggled to open the fourth stage since cars and bikes took different routes, meaning he couldn’t just follow the tracks put down by the riders. Either way, marathon conditions meant Guthrie couldn’t take too many risks since he and navigator Kellon Walch are responsible for fixing any vehicle snags themselves in the camps afterward. Consequently, he finished 23rd and nearly 44 minutes behind the leaders.

Ford’s 1–2–3–4–5 in the overall was wiped out entirely, a mixture of going conservatively for the marathon and continued tire problems. None of the Fords placed in the top ten, Mattias Ekström the highest in 12th but having two flats that cost him time.

Conversely, Henk Lategan was on the attack as he battled Nasser Al-Attiyah for the stage win. Al-Attiyah fell back a bit because of a flat and settled for second, which he was fine with since it “might even be good for our start position tomorrow.”

Lategan was just happy to finish the stage without a puncture, having been afflicted with nine of them across the first three days.

“I think that’s a record,” he quipped. “I didn’t know what to do on the rocks, whether to slow down or not, attack or not. I decided to forget all that and just gofor it.”

Gerard Farrés withdrew from the race after navigator Toni Vingut started feeling dizzy during the stage. He had taken a hard shot on a rough landing in Stage 3, and the symptoms persisted throughout Wednesday morning before they decided to call it quits 200 kilometers into the leg.

“We are a team and we both have to be well,” said Vingut.

The Dakar Classic saw two retirements as Stephan Lamarre and Sanjay Takale had to bow out for mechanical issues. Takale had previously encountered the same situation two days prior, though Compagnie Saharienne teammate Julian Johan arrived to help. This time, his luck ran out.

Stage 4 winners

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	202	Henk Lategan	Toyota Gazoo Racing	4:47:08
Challenger	23	300	Nicolás Cavigliasso	Vertical Motor Sport Team	5:23:12
SSV	20	401	Brock Heger*	LOEB FrayMédia Motorsport	5:21:48
Stock	53	500	Stéphane Peterhansel	Defender Rally	5:52:38
Truck	38	600	Martin Macík Jr.*	MM Technology	5:40:19

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
RallyGP	1	68	Tosha Schareina	Monster Energy Honda HRC	4:31:56
Rally2	10	66	Neels Theric	Kove Factory Racing	4:42:18

Open

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Classic	703	Karolis Raišys*	Ovoko Racing	24
Mission 1000	1000	Benjamin Pascual*	Segway Racing	20

Leaders after Stage 4

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	202	Henk Lategan	Toyota Gazoo Racing	16:29:15
Challenger	28	304	Yasir Seaidan	Nasser Racing	18:20:19
SSV	31	401	Brock Heger*	LOEB FrayMédia Motorsport	18:30:35
Stock	59	502	Rokas Baciuška	Defender Rally	20:08:37
Truck	40	600	Martin Macík Jr.*	MM Technology	19:11:37

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
RallyGP	1	68	Tosha Schareina	Monster Energy Honda HRC	16:45:40
Rally2	11	85	Preston Campbell	Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally2	17:54:30

Open

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Classic	728	Maxence Gublin*	Bolides Racing Team	279
Mission 1000	1000	Benjamin Pascual*	Segway Racing	65

Featured image credit: Monster Energy Honda HRC