Australian KTM racer Toby Price has battled to 16th on the fourth day of the world’s biggest off-road race, as the stage between Chilecito and Copiato unfolded.

Spaniard Juan Barreda Bort extended his lead in the first week of the epic race, winning the stage narrowly from countryman and defending champion Marc Coma, while Chilean Pablo Quintanilla was third on the day.

Price got lost early in today’s special stage, dropping through the pack to an indicated 68th overall, before climbing his way back almost to the top 15 by the end of the 315-kilometre end point.

In doing so, the KTM 450 Rally rider limited the damage to less than 20 minutes and only conceded a single place in the overall standings. He now sits seventh outright, less than a minute and a half behind the next-placed rider.

Toby Price: “Straight up this morning I got lost following the crest of a hill. I thought I was on the right track but obviously I wasn’t, so I lost a bit of time there. It’s all a learning curve. I knew today would be a little worse results because of the conditions, but all in all, I’m at the finish. I can take a few points from today, learn from them and know where I went wrong.”

Day five in the Dakar from Copiapo to Antofagasta will see the first of the rare occasions in which Car, Truck, Bike and ATV categories will all compete upon the same Special Stage of 458km.