Sergei Kariakin and Austin Jones put disappointing Tuesday results behind them, rebounding today with first and second place results in the T4 SSV class in Stage 10 of the 2021 Dakar Rally, taking racers from Neom to Al Ula. The duo were separated by just 29 seconds at the finish, with Poland’s Michal Goczal completing the daily podium.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for either driver to make up meaningful ground on incoming overall leader Chaleco Lopez. The Chilean at one point looked to be a threat for his fourth stage victory in the row, before eventually settling for sixth place on the day. However, Lopez was within three minutes of both Kariakin and Jones, limiting the damage in the overall standings. His overall lead now sits at 10:13 over Jones, who strengthened his grip on second after his Monster Energy Can-Am teammate Aron Domzala came in 11th on the day.

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#380 Meeke Kris (gbr), Rosegaar Wouter (nld), PH Sport, PH Sport, Light Weight Vehicles Prototype – T3, action during the 5th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Riyadh and Al Qaisumah, in Saudi Arabia on January 7, 2021 – Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

With yesterday’s mechanical failures and required tow ending Seth Quintero’s hopes of an overall UTV win in his maiden Dakar, the American was back on the pace today as he came in fourth in the T3 lightweight vehicle class. WRC veteran Kris Meeke was the fastest T3 racer at seventh among all UTVs, with Lionel Baud and Jean Remy Bergounhe completing the day’s podium. Josef Machacek remains the overall T3 leader thanks to Quintero’s drop in the overall rankings, but the Czech driver only came in 10th in T3 and 27th among all UTVs. Once in the battle for the overall win, the chances of a T3 simply making the combined top 10 are now remote, as Machacek is nearly an hour off of 10th place Khalifa Al-Attiyah in the UTV ranks.

Factory Polaris RZR racer Wayne Matlock’s first Dakar voyage continues with the former SCORE champion still 15th in the combined rankings. Coming off of a best stage finish of sixth yesterday, Matlock remained consistent today with a 14th place combined stage result. Kristen Matlock posted a 37th place stage finish, continuing her run in the Dakar Experience class; while issues in Stage 2 forced her to give up on the pursuit of an overall finish, Matlock has rebounded without any further major issues since then.

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406 Domzala Aron (pol), Marton Maciej (bra), Can-Am, Monster Engery Can-Am, Motul, SSV Series – T4, action during the 10th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Neom and Al-Ula, in Saudi Arabia on January 13, 2021 – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

Changes are abound in both the Stage 11 route to Yanbu and American TV coverage of the event. While tomorrow’s timetable remains the same, the route has been shortened by 50 kilometers thanks to severe weather in the area. As for the NBCSN broadcast, it’ll be pushed back from its previous 6PM ET/3PM PT hour due to the NHL season openers; instead, today’s highlights will air at 1:30AM ET/10:30PM PT after the conclusion of NHL Overtime, with no re-air of yesterday’s Neom loop stage.

2021 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Winners

  • Lightweight Prototype: Kris Meeke, 3:34:41
  • SSV: Sergei Kariakin, 3:31:17

2021 Dakar Rally Overall Rankings

ClassT3 (Lightweight Prototype)T4 (SSV)
1stJosef Machacek, 51:04:18Chaleco Lopez, 45:39:18
2ndCamelia Liparoti, +1:30:49Austin Jones, +10:13
3rdPhilippe Pinchedez, +2:25:58Aron Domzala, +42:41
4thJean-Luc Pisson, +2:43:30Michal Goczal, +1:01:59
5thJean Remy Berghoune, +3:39:51Reinaldo Varela, +1:24:47

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