Dakar 2023: Rui Gonçalves keeps climbing positions

The third stage, and the longest of this Dakar 2023, kept the hardness of yesterday's stage with a hard and difficult course where the 669 km of the course demanded again the maximum of concentration with Rui Gonçalves climbing up to 13th place in the classification table.

With a fast but sometimes winding course, winding through rocky gorges and sandy tracks, the stage that linked Alula to Ha'Il allowed Rui Gonçalves to show off his driving skills in this type of conditions while demonstrating the true capabilities of his Sherco FE 450 Rally.

After three stages in this edition of the Dakar, Rui Gonçalves showed again a fast and consistent pace that allowed him to get through the 447 km of the timed section in a prominent position outside the "Top 10".

At the end of the stage, after all the pilots had crossed the finish line, the heavy rain that fell in the Saudi desert forced the caravan of pilots to roll in convoy to the "bivouac".

The fourth stage of Dakar 2023 will be run on a new loop that will link Ha'il to Ha'il in a 573 km section (425 km timed).

Rui Gonçalves: "We faced again a long and hard day in which everything went quite well. The stage was quite fast and in some places there was again a lot of rock where it was necessary to roll with extra attention. I was quite happy with the result achieved at the end. The storm that hit after the end of the stage meant that we had to ride 160 km of road under heavy rain. The rain hasn't stopped yet, and I think these conditions may have some impact on tomorrow's stage as it is not normal to have this kind of weather in the desert. Thanks to everyone for the strong support throughout these days."

Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Rui Gonçalves official press release
Photos: Rally Zone