Today was one of those days at Dakar that really shakes things up.  For all but 43 motorcycle riders, the race stage was cut short due to a massive rain/hail storm wiping through the Saudi desert. The images are insane and reports are nasty.  For most of the moto contenders, the day ahead of that storm was fantastic. Unfortunately, American Ricky Brabec has withdrew from the race after a hard crash during the stage. His injuries aren't fully known yet but we do know he was stable with mobility en-route to scans at the hospital. Reports are of neck and shoulder pain at this time. 

Red Bull GasGas rider Daniel Sanders grabbed a commanding stage win by blitzing through a long, tough, stage after a strategic finishing position yesterday put him in a prime place to win. His speed is what did the deed, though, as he led from every checkpoint all day and managed to put some serious time into his rivals in the top-ten general standing for the race.

American Husqvarna Factory pilot Skyler Howes  finished the stage in second today after starting in the usually unfavorable spot of third on the day. Howes was able to carry big speed all day despite being up front and, as you'll hear in today's show, he really enjoyed himself. 

Fellow American Mason Klein led the entire 400+ KM of timed special stage after his win yesterday to finish an amazing third today and  put his stamp of competency and contention on the 2023 Dakar and the Rally GP class. The 21-year-old American lost minimal time to stage winner Sanders and benefitted from the new stage-leading bonus rules from the organization to limit his losses even more. In the end, he only gave up around six minutes the insanely fast Australian. The only way this happens is if Mason Klein rides like an absolute boss leading the world's best riders. And he did just that. 

More insight in this episode from Red Bull KTM's Australian legend Toby Price and his teammate Kevin Benevides as well as our daily check in with the Ironmen of the sport and our daily Paul Neff quote - one of our favorite parts of the day. 

More tomorrow from Stage 4. Don't forget to get your picks in at www.chainslayer.com/dakar for your chance to win prizes from our show sponsors and do yourself a favor and buy a t-shirt at https://www.bivouacrally.com/shop/p/the-bivouac-tee

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Dakar Rally Daily is produced and edited by Jesse Ziegler, and hosted by Quinn Cody and Jesse Ziegler.