Stage 4 Al Henakiyah → Al Ula

As hard as the first few days may have been, this will be no time to falter. The marathon stage is going to be a hell of a ride.

← Stage 3

Stage 5 →

ℹ️ Route info ℹ️

Entrants should be wary of the volcanic terrain. The technical tracks leading to Al Ula will plunge the field into the splendid canyons for which the region is famous. The finish line will be set up inside the dedicated bivouac, which is off limits to service vehicles.

Liaison

173 km

Special Stage

415 km

Motorbike riders will be given just an hour and a half to work on their mounts. As for the cars, there will no restrictions on mutual aid.

📝 Mixed Fortunes for Marathon Stage 📝

ALULA – Vaidotas Žala finished fourth in the first part of the Dakar Rally’s marathon stage on Wednesday. The Lithuanian truck driver and his crew encountered problems with their Iveco after a flat tire but managed to minimize the damage. Anja van Loon and her brothers Ben and Jan van de Laar secured an impressive seventh place. Aleš Loprais had an unfortunate day, finishing ninth.

The 588-kilometer stage from Al Henakiyah to Alula proved challenging for the Dakar participants. Much of the 415-kilometer special stage traversed volcanic terrain with sharp rocks and boulders. Many drivers experienced punctures, including Žala.

Best performance

Anja van Loon of the Fried van de Laar Racing Team de Rooy FPT had her best performance yet in the first day of the marathon stage, finishing seventh. However, Loprais wasn’t as fortunate.

Anja van Loon

Jan van de Laar

Ben van de Laar

The second part of the marathon stage takes place Thursday, covering 492 kilometers from Alula to Hail, including a 428-kilometer special stage.

Issues

“It was an extremely difficult day”, said the Skuba Team de Rooy FPT driver at the Alula bivouac, where teams couldn’t fall back on their support crews.

“We had a flat tire. Afterward, we experienced some issues that prevented us from maintaining full speed. We hope to reach the marathon stage finish line tomorrow.”

Vaidotas Žala

Paulo Fiuza

Max van Grol

Žala took responsibility for the puncture and its effects. “I believe it’s my fault. We were pushing hard when we had this major impact. Now, the truck’s steering is compromised. I think we’ll make it through. We need to inspect the vehicle now, but we can’t perform any substantial repairs here without our mechanics.”