Qatar’s Al Attiyah extends overall lead as Loeb powers Bahrain Raid Xtreme to Dramatic Dakar Rally stage win
Qarar’s Al Attiyah extends overall lead as Loeb powers
Bahrain Raid Xtreme to Dramatic Dakar Rally stage win
French ace climbs again in Prodrive Hunter as penalty drops
Sainz
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 8th January: Sebastien Loeb recorded a
dramatic stage victory for Bahrain Raid Xtreme in the Dakar Rally today after
another classic battle with Carlos Sainz and overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah
in Saudi Arabia.
Loeb and Fabian Lurquin in their BRX Prodrive Hunter won the
346km eighth stage from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh by 2 mins 11 secs from Al Attiyah
and Mathieu Baumel to climb to fourth place in the overall rankings.
Sainz and Lucas Cruz had led the stage for much of the day,
but dropped two places when they collected a five-minute penalty after finishing
in their Audi for speeding in a restricted zone.
The result saw nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb
continuing his rise up the rankings following a series of earlier setbacks,
while Al Attiyah extended his outright advantage to 1hr 3mins 46secs over
Toyota team-mate, South African Henk Lategan.
For the fourth day in a row, three Prodrive Hunters finished
in the top ten, with Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq clocking the sixth best
time and Vaidotas Zala with Paulo Fiuza in tenth spot.
Loeb’s second stage win, and the third for BRX following
Chicherit’s victory last Tuesday, gave the Frenchman another World Rally-Raid
Championship points boost as the power of the Prodrive Hunter again shone
through.
Starting off through stony valleys, the stage broke out
across the dunes up to the refuelling station, with the rest of the route
setting a tough test of navigation along fast tracks and long valley sections.
It became the scene of another gripping Dakar battle between
the world’s best drivers, with Loeb setting the early pace before Sainz grabbed
the initiative and Al Attiyah stayed in the hunt to keep the outcome uncertain
to the finish.
With tomorrow being a rest day, the crews will enjoy some
well-earned relaxation before the Dakar actions returns with the 358km ninth
stage on Tuesday.
There will be little rest, however, for the remainder of the
67-strong BRX team in Saudi. They will work round the clock to prepare the
three Prodrive Hunters, each running on EcoPower fuel, created by Coryton,
which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to petrol.
Comments
Post a Comment