With the final day remaining, Carlos Sainz can almost definitively touch the Dakar 2024 title. A mechanical problem at kilometer 132 of the 11th stage has caused Sébastien Loeb, the Spaniard’s main pursuer in the general classification, to lose 1 hour and 16 minutes. The Madrid driver took advantage of the opponent’s breakdown to distance himself widely and remain the leader with a margin of 1 hour and 27 minutes over Guillaume De Mevius, who is second on the list.
The day before, Sainz had saved the stage after suffering three punctures, so this Thursday he started 13 minutes ahead of Loeb. Luckily, today’s route was not so problematic and the Audi driver defended his leadership over the rocks that make up the 420 kilometers between Al Ula and Yanbu.
The stage began with a face-to-face duel between Sainz and Loeb. At the first checkpoint, the Madrid native was the fastest with 1 minute and 3 seconds ahead of the Frenchman, who 40 kilometers later improved his time and was 21 seconds behind Sainz.
Everything has changed with the stoppage of the Prodrive driver, who suffered suspension problems after a jump. According to the organization, Loeb would have asked to leave the stage due to the breakdown, which would have meant losing all his chances in the competition. However, the Frenchman finally received assistance and returned to riding after an hour and a quarter lost.
Sainz took advantage of the opportunity and overtook the Frenchman while he was still standing. Knowing his new privileged situation, the Audi driver preferred to reduce risks and slow down the pace in the last kilometers with his possible fourth Dakar this Friday in mind.
Lucas Moraes, who at the beginning of the stage was fighting for second place overall, also suffered serious mechanical problems. A first stop at kilometer 360 cost him more than 20 minutes and a second, in which he was helped by his teammate Seth Quintero, completely squandered his hope of finishing in the top three.
On motorcycles, the American Ricky Brabec (Honda) has also approached his second Dakar. Although the stage victory has remained in the hands of Botswana Ross Branch (Hero), Brabec continues to keep him 10 minutes and 22 seconds ahead in the general classification.
The African has pressed his options until the end to reverse the more than 10 minutes that Brabec had at the beginning of the stage. However, the American, who had to open the track, only gave up 32 seconds in the more than four hundred kilometers of stage where he had to pay attention to the navigation and the stones.
While Brebec and Branch were fighting for the victory in both the stage and the general classification, a consistent Adrien van Beveren (Honda) kept pace behind them, although he was not able to get close to them to fight for the classification victory. .
All in all, this penultimate stage has helped him consolidate third place, for which he has fought against Nacho Cornejo (Honda). The Chilean suffered a mechanical problem that made him stop for almost 20 minutes and, finally, he was unable to get on the podium despite being the driver who has achieved the most victories this edition of the Dakar.
The last stage of the competition will begin and end in the coastal city of Yanbu, on the shores of the Red Sea, and the drivers will have 175 kilometers of special to conclude a journey that has lasted since last Friday, the 5th.
