With the rally now past the halfway stage and heading back towards the host city of Lima, stage six covered some of the same ground as previous stages. An extremely long day for all competitors, the 838 kilometres total distance included a 336-kilometre timed special. The route took riders through the characteristic soft sand dunes of the Ica desert before subjecting them to faster, more open rocky pistes. A strong wind towards the end of the stage only added to the challenge.

Just 27 seconds adrift from teammate Walkner, Toby Price continues to battle on despite the increasing pain in his wrist. The Australian’s fourth place result puts him in an ideal start position for Monday’s stage seven. Price lies third in the provisional standings.

Toby Price: “It’s been a really tough day today. My wrist is hurting more and more as the race goes on and it’s making things uncomfortable out there. I’ll keep cruising on though and I’m still in the race, it’s just a bit more like survival mode at the moment. Nevertheless, third overall with four stages left to race is encouraging. The goal is the same – make it safely to the finish – so I’ll keep on pushing on tomorrow.”

Ben Young finished Stage 6 in 55th position and is now 63rd in the provisional standings while countryman James Ferguson came in 75th in the stage and is 77th overall.

Yamaha rider Rod Faggotter retired from the race in Stage 3 due to a technical issue.

3. Toby Price, 20:50:30 +5:17
63. Ben Young, 33:45:45 +13:00:32
77. James Ferguson, 39:26:01 +18:40:48

John Maragozidis placed 13th in the stage and is 12th overall.

Stephen Riley and Trevor Hanks began Stage 6 in 84th position despite running into issues with their Holden Ute on Stage 4. After dust made its way into the clutch and rendered it useless the pair were towed out of Stage 4 and used the rest day to rebuild the damaged part.

However, Stage 6 would mark the end of the road for Riley and Hanks after the pair crashed resulting in Riley being airlifted to Lima. The team posted an update on Facebook saying, “It is with regret that the battlers from down under have withdrawn from Dakar 2019! Early in the competitive stage today, Steve and Trev nosed the car over a sand dune which has resulted in Steve being airlifted to Lima, and Trev although sore, is in good spirits considering the impact. When we know more we will keep you all up to date. Thanks for all your support and well wishes! Cheers from the Team!”