American Ricky Brabec began the today in the Dakar rally, with a clear plan, but that strategy shifted once he caught the front runners. Adjusting on the fly cost him slightly, and he finished third in RallyGP, 6’22” behind Schareina.With tracks to follow from the riders ahead on stage ten, Brabec will look to reduce the 6’24” gap to Sanders in the overall standings.Arriving at the marathon camp with his tyres in good condition, he remains a strong contender.

Skyler Howes once again showcased his consistency, enjoying the spectacular dunes and finishing fourth.Although he remains fifth overall, Howes was pleased to reach the marathon camp with his tyres intact, meaning minimal work on the bike without assistance – one of the key challenges of the marathon stage.

The third American, Preston Campbell extended his advantage in the overall standings for the Rally2 class. Starting the day with a nine-and-a-half-minute lead in the Rally2 category, Campbell has adopted a measured approach since taking over the overall lead on stage four, focused on consistency and avoiding mistakes.That strategy paid off once again, as the young American extended his advantage with a third-place stage finish, increasing his overall lead to 17’28” as the rally moves closer to its conclusion.

Ricky Brabec: I was expecting a bit of a different outcome on the day. From the description it just said it was kind of fast. I thought Luciano did a good job yesterday opening all by himself and that he would have no problems today. Maybe around 30 or 40 km, I caught them. They made a small mistake and from then we all rode together in a big group. Last night before bed, we had a perfect strategy but obviously it didn’t work out. A couple of riders made small mistakes, but at the end of the day I feel like I’m still in a good spot for tomorrow. At least for now, I have Tosha and Daniel in front of me to make the lines. It looks like I’m third, which gives me a six-minute gap to make a good push tomorrow.

Skyler Howes: I know today we really needed to manage the tyres as there were a lot of rocks at the beginning. Edgar Canet caught up to us and at the refuelling he had smashed his wheel, cut his tyre and had a bunch of issues, so I knew that you could definitely go overboard here. It was important to me, especially after the last marathon stage to try to do my best, to manage everything and make sure to get to this bivouac with the bike in good shape. I think I did a pretty good job.