The riders and drivers on the Dakar were never far from the beach… but today they did not encounter much sand between Al Wajh and Neom, as they constantly followed the Red Sea coastline..
On their journey towards the north of the country, they especially travelled from valley to valley, with navigational decisions to be made at all times, which even left some of the most experienced crews dizzy, such as the Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz duo.
As they reached a semi-mountainous section on the second part of the special, they hardly had the chance to appreciate the view of Jabal Dabbagh Mountain, because their full attention was required to negotiate the rocky terrain threatening their tyres and, more worryingly, their machinery.
In the Toyota team, Nasser Al-Attiyah bore the brunt of such mishaps but without serious consequences. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Fernando Alonso…
After several impressive showings on his first Dakar in 2019, Ross Branch picked up his first stage victory by catching his rivals one by one on the way to Neom. This win is surely the start of more to come and at the finishing line he beat the new leader of the general standings, Sam Sunderland.
Yesterday’s winner Toby Price was obliged to open the way and lost 12 minutes as a result. This difficult day for the Australian was in stark contrast with Ignacio Casale’s stage in the quad race, as he obtained a second consecutive success with remarkable ease.
The car race was much more eventful for the usual leading lights of the discipline due to navigation problems which cost Nasser Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel plenty of time, enabling the experienced South African Giniel de Villiers to become the first driver in the history of the Dakar to win specials on three different continents, in front of Orlando Terranova who took advantage of others’ mishaps to take the lead in the general standings.
There was also a change of leader in the SSV race with title holder Chaleco López taking command, as well as in the truck category, thanks to a fine performance from Siarhei Viazovich, a driver who is on top form and intent on disputing the supremacy of the Kamaz armada in the Middle East.
Relatively unknown to the general public, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi had nevertheless already made a name for himself with a solid 6th place on the Dakar 2018. The arrival of the prestigious rally in Saudi Arabia, neighbour to his native United Arab Emirates, has seemed to galvanise the former WRC driver who took perfect advantage of his Peugeot 3008 DKR’s qualities on the way to Neom.
A skilful navigator, the representative of Abu Dhabi finished with a very fine third place on completion of the special, pushing him up to 7th place in the general standings.
After an honourable debut and eleventh place on the first stage between Jeddah and Al Wajh, Fernando Alonso increased his pace on the first part of the stage leading to Neom.
However, an impact with rock after 160 km ripped a wheel off his Toyota, which led to the former Formula 1 champion losing 2 hours and 30 minutes for repairs. The Spaniard is just at the start of his learning curve on the rally…