Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders Sam Sunderland and Toby Price have successfully completed the long stage three of the 2018 Dakar Rally, finishing first and third respectively.

Price’s five-minute time penalty, which pushed the 2016 champ down to 10th for the Stage and eighth overall has been removed and officials have reinstated his original third-place result. This puts Price in fourth overall.

“Everything felt really good today, I was really comfortable on the bike. I knew my pace was good and so I kept on pushing,” said Price. “I did come off the bike after a big drop-off from one of the dunes around the 140km mark. Luckily, I didn’t damage myself or the bike too much, the road-book got filled with sand though so for the rest of the stage I had to just ease my pace a little. One of the worst things was that I lost the end to my camelback in the crash and wasn’t able to keep hydrated towards the finish. Apart from that everything was good, you can see on days like today how important it is to stay focused and not make any mistakes. Hopefully I can keep up the same performance for the rest of the rally.”

Tuesday’s stage four of the Dakar Rally 2018 will see riders begin their day with a sprint along the beach at San Juan de Marcona. The riders will then head back into the dunes for one of the most difficult sand sections of the rally. The total distance covered will be 444km, 330km of which is timed special.

Dakar Rally Stage 3 results

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:20:43
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:23:46 +3:03
3. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:24:11 +3:28
4. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:24:38 +3:55
5. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 3:25:03 +4:20

Provisional Standings after Stage Three – 2018 Dakar Rally

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:44:23
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 6:49:01 +4:38
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 6:49:23 +5:00
4. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 6:51:51 +7:28
5. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 6:52:23 +8:00