Read these from the bottom up for the full effect:
10:04 Walkner turns back! Matthias Walkner now has a chasm between himself and his rivals, but even though he was on the right track, the Austrian has mysteriously changed direction! What an incredible start to the special!
10:01 Quintanilla back on track Pablo Quintanilla has returned to the correct route on the special, but it is another catastrophe for Joan Barreda, who is now five kilometres from the right track and has been followed by Ricky Brabec.
09:58 Van Beveren also in dire straits After a quick start to the special, Adrien Van Beveren has fallen into the same trap as his rivals and has got lost after approximately 147 km.
09:55 De Soultrait and Quintanilla still going wrong Pablo Quintanilla is still following the wrong track and is getting further away from the correct route. The case is even worse for Xavier de Soultrait and Michael Metge, who are more than five kilometres away from where they should be. Joan Barreda is almost back on track after having lost plenty of time.
09:52 A big gap possible for Walkner Opening the way today, Matthias Walkner is the only rider to have not made a mistake in his choice of track. The Austrian could build a big gap between himself and all his rivals!
09:48 Barreda lost, Svitko and Quintanilla following More drama on the Dakar: Joan Barreda has turned back looking for the right track and after Metge and De soultrait, now the general standings leader Pablo Quintanilla and Stefan Svitko have made the same mistake as Barreda to get themselves lost.
09:38 Barreda, Metge and De soultrait get lost! Joan Barreda has gone astray from the correct route by several kilometres. Michael Metge and Xavier de Soultrait have followed him and made the same mistake.
09:33 All over for Zongshen Thierry Bethys was the last representative of the Chinese constructor Zongshen, which is participating in its first Dakar. However, the brand’s debut hopes went up in smoke, because the Frenchman, who completed his first five Dakars, could do nothing but drop out of the race after his machine caught fire and burned on the fourth stage.
09:22 Van Beveren closes in Adrien Van Beveren trails his countryman Michael Metge by only 37 seconds at WP1, and is right behind Joan Barreda, making this a promising start to the special for a rider still looking for his first stage victory on the Dakar.
09:11 Sanz bides her time Laia Sanz, who is about to start the special, is having a discrete start to the Dakar for the moment. The young lady occupies 24th position in the general standings, 1 hour and 26 minutes behind Pablo Quintanilla. However, the official KTM rider knows that there is still a long way to go on the Dakar and she has not made the slightest mistake so far.
08:56 Quintanilla trails by 1’21 The new rally leader Pablo Quintanilla has reached WP1 with the sixth best time, 1’21 behind Michael Metge.
08:46 Metge on the attack No doubt frustrated by his penalty handed out by the race officials after his fine stage the day before, Michael Metge has decided to put in a big performance. The Frenchman is in the lead at WP1, 26 seconds ahead of his team leader Joan Barreda.
08:39 Metge, Brabec and Gonçalves also penalized Like their leader Joan Barreda, the official Honda riders Michael Metge, Ricky Brabec and Paulo Gonçalves have been heavily penalised following refuelling outside the authorised zone on stage four. This is a big blow for the world’s leading constructor in their attempt to beat KTM on the Dakar for first time in the last five years.
07:56 The bike race has started Matthias Walkner, Joan Barreda and Xavier de Soultrait have set off to tackle the 447 km awaiting them on the day’s special.
07:47 Barreda loses 1 hour! More drama in an edition of the Dakar which is offering no respite to the competitors: Joan Barreda, the (comfortable) leader of the general standings, has received a one hour penalty for refuelling outside the permitted zone. As a result, the Honda rider drops down to 7th place, 41 minutes behind the new leader Pablo Quintanilla. The Spaniard has it all to do again, which should make for some spectacular riding.
07:39 The (many) withdrawals of the day After an already very difficult third day for the competitors, the fourth stage decimated their ranks even further. In the bike category Thierry Bethys, David Megre, Toby Price, Walter Terblanche, Alessandro Botturi, Rodney Faggotter, Jorge Lacunza, Ronald ter Beek, Armand Monléon and Jurgen van den Goorbergh had to drop out. As for the quads, Josef Macháček and Pablo Luis Novara will not start today. In the car race Stefano Marrini, Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Ebert Dollevoet and Carlos Sainz all fell victim to the terrible 4th stage.
07:23 Walkner faces a new challenge Matthias Walkner will be at the start of the special in several minutes time. For the first time, the Austrian will open the way on the Dakar.