Saudi Arabia, January 6, 2026–Laia Sanz and Maurizio Gerini proved on Tuesday that solidarity in competition is as important a value as a good result. The EBRO Audax Motorsport team members found no better date than Epiphany to put that maxim into practice and offer their help to another participant in trouble. That decision deprived them of a possible first top 10, although the 13th position with which they finally crossed the finish line – 15:13 behind the leader – still represents a meritorious classification, the best of their career in a stage of the Dakar Rally by car. In the general standings, they move up to 18th position, 27:55 behind the leader.
“We are very happy with how it went today. Despite some setbacks, it was a good day and we achieved a great result. The EBRO s800 XRR is getting better and better, and I am very grateful to the entire team for the great work they are doing,” commented Laia Sanz upon returning to the Al Ula camp after completing the 736 kilometers of the third stage, 421 of them timed.
The special stage presented several difficulties, mainly punctures – the dominant trend since the current edition of the Dakar Rally began – and navigation, two obstacles that the Spanish-Italian pair also had to face: “We were doing well, but at the beginning we had a small navigation error, which was complicated today. Even so, ‘Gerry’ did very well. Then we got a puncture in a rocky area.”
The critical point for Sanz and Gerini came in the latter part of the stage, when they found Brian Baragwanath stopped with serious problems to continue. Without hesitation, the EBRO Audax Motorsport members decided to sacrifice their position to help a rival.
“Brian had had three punctures, he had no spare tires left, and we gave him the one we had. The last 80 kilometers were very stressful because there were a lot of rocks and we couldn't risk a puncture. We had to slow down a lot, and we lost a lot of time, about six minutes in total, we calculated. In the Dakar, we have to help each other, if we can, because one day it could happen to us the other way around and we would be the ones needing that help,” explains Laia Sanz.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, participants will face the fourth stage, which is also the first part of the marathon, where at the end of the day, after completing 530 kilometers (452 of them timed), the drivers and co-drivers will have to carry out the maintenance of their respective vehicles themselves. On the other hand, the mechanical assistance teams will enjoy a quiet day waiting to reunite with the crews who overcome this tough test.
