A spinal injury has forced reigning motorcycle class winner Sam Sunderland out of the event, while Yamaha claimed a 1-2 on the stage that put France’s Adrien Van Beveren into the lead.

And, although Price lost 13 minutes on the Yamaha rider, he now sits sixth overall – just 10 minutes adrift - after his five minute penalty from stage three was rescinded by officials.

The 330km special stage in Peru saw the field start in groups on a beach before heading into a demanding 100km stretch of sand dunes, taking competitors over 2000m above sea level for the first time on this year’s event, before finishing back in San Juan de Marcona.

Ironically, it was during stage four that Price crashed out of the event last year.

“That was the most difficult day so far,” Price said.

“We thought by starting in a group it would be like a nice day out riding with your friends but as soon as we got to the dunes, the going got really tough.

“The worst thing was the sand was really unpredictable – there were loads of soft patches that were hard to see and if you were the first rider to hit them you ended up dropping right back.

“The group I was in missed a waypoint so we lost a fair amount of time getting back on track. As a positive I finished the stage in one piece, I’m in a good start position for tomorrow so I’ll crack on and see if I can claw back some time then.”

MOTORCYCLE STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 4

1. Adrien van Beveren (Yamaha) 11hr 3min 23sec

2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) +1min 55sec

3. Kevin Benavides (Honda) +3min 15sec

4. Matthias Walkner (KTM) +5min 23sec

5. Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) +7min 34sec

6. TOBY PRICE (KTM) +10min 14sec

7 Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) +12min 6sec

8. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) +12min 48sec

9. Gerard Farres (KTM) +13min 5sec

10. Antoine Meo (KTM) +13min 47sec