Bikers Price and Sunderland still in touch as Karginov excels in Dakar truck class.

Stéphane Peterhansel finished third on Stage Five behind 2009 champion Giniel De Villiers to extend his 2021 Dakar Rally car lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah as Russian Andrey Karginov opened up his account with a truck stage win. Here is all you need to know:

– The Dakar cavalcade departed on Thursday from Riyadh to Al Quisumah for a 457km timed special stage with massive dunes to cross, stony sections that threatened punctures and tricky navigation.

– South African De Villiers dug deep in the car category to claim his first 2021 stage win by 58 seconds from compatriot Brian Baragwanath with Frenchman Peterhansel 2m25s behind in third spot.

– With Al-Attiyah fourth and reigning champion Carlos Sainz ninth, it means Peterhansel now lies 6m11s ahead of the Qatari overall with Sainz 48m13s back in third and Poland’s Kuba Przygoński in a creditable fourth.

– Three-time champion Al-Attiyah, 50, revealed: “It was not easy to open. We saw a lot of bikes coming and we got confused. At the beginning, we lost eight or nine minutes. I’m happy to have got here. Stéphane did a very good job because he stayed behind me all the way.”

– In the truck category, Karginov excelled with just under five-and-a-half hours logged behind the wheel to win the stage with fellow Team Kamaz Master driver Dmitry Sotnikov third on the day.

– Russian Sotnikov holds a comfortable 33m53s overall lead over compatriot Anton Shibalov with Airat Mardeev fifth, Chilean Ignacio Casale sixth and Karginov 10th.

– In the bike category, Australian Toby Price and Sam Sunderland finished third and fifth on the day for Red Bull KTM Factory Team to move up to fourth and fifth respectively overall behind Argentine Kevin Benavides.

– Briton Sunderland explained: “It was a really difficult stage that started off with a lot of tricky navigation. Lots of places were looking the same and there weren’t many references. I did a few circles in the first part and then after the refuel I tried to push to recover some time.”

– Former champion Matthias Walkner finished eighth with Štefan Svitko and rookie Daniel Sanders well placed to break into the Top 10, however the last two stages have seen Mohammed Jaffar and CS Santosh withdraw so hopefully a speedy recovery from their injuries.

– Chile’s Chaleco Lopez earned another Lightweight vehicle stage win to extend his overall lead to 10m51s over Pole Aron Domzala with teenage rookie Seth Quintero third on the day to go fourth overall.

– Quintero’s fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team drivers Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Cristina Gutiérrez brought their OT3s to the finish line, while Dakar debutant Mattias Ekström also got through the stage.

– Friday’s Stage Six is from Al Qaisumah to Ha’il with 448km of special stage ahead of Saturday’s rest day.

Overall standings after Stage Five

Car
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) X-Raid Mini 18h28m02s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) Toyota Gazoo +00h06m11s
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) X-Raid Mini +00h48m13s

Bike
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda 20h15m39s
2. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA) Husqvarna +00h02m31s
3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo Honda +00h3m42s

Truck
1. Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS) Kamaz Master 20h16m18s
2. Anton Shibalov (RUS) Kamaz Master +00h33m53s
3. Martin Macick (CZE) Iveco +00h51m11s

Lightweight vehicle
1. Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) Can-Am 22h25m29s
2. Aron Domzala (POL) Can-Am +00h10m51s
3. Austin Jones (USA) Can-Am +00h13m28s

  • Matthias Walkner (AUT) of Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 04 of Rally Dakar2021 from Wadi Ad Dawasir to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 06, 2021 // Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070115 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Airat Mardeev (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070118 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stefan Svitko (SVK) fot Slovnaft Rally Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070120 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) for X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070122 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cristina Gutierrez Herrero (ESP) for RedBull off-road team USA races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070125 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Camille Chapeliere (FRA) for Team Baines Rally races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070128 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Toby Price (AUS) for Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070129 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070130 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Anton Shibalov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070131 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Daniel Sanders (AUS) for KTM Factory Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070132 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Carlos Sainz (ESP) for X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070134 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Ignacio Casale (CHL) for TATRA BUGGYRA RACINGraces during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070135 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) for South Racing Can-Am team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070138 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cyril Despres (FRA) for Abu Dhabi Racing Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070139 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070140 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Laia Sanz (ESP) for Gas Gas Factory team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070142 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070143 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Mitchell Guthrie (USA) for RedBull off-road team USAraces during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070144 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Mohammed Jaffar (KWT) for Duust Rally Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070146 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sam Sunderland (GBR) for Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 5 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Riyadh to Buraydah, Saudi Arabia on January 07, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070147 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in the Hunter of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme Team races during the 5th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Riyadh and Al Qaisumah, in Saudi Arabia on January 7, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070213 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in the Mini Buggy of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during the 5th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Riyadh and Al Qaisumah, in Saudi Arabia on January 7, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070215 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Jakub Przygonski and Timo Gottschalk in the Toyota Hilux of the Overdrive Toyota Team races during the 5th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Riyadh and Al Qaisumah, in Saudi Arabia on January 7, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101070222 // Usage for editorial use only //