The devil knows more for being old than for being a devil, and Carlos Sainz, for being a great veteran driver, at 61 years old and in his 17th edition in the toughest rally in the world. The man from Madrid continues making mischief when others are already facing retirement, and after second place in the first special and 8th in yesterday’s day, another 470 km beating, he has climbed to the lead in cars. The Matador is now in charge, with an income that is not definitive, but it does order the hierarchy and allows him to put his rivals at ease: 1m51s takes out Al Rajhi, 4m17s out Loeb, 12m16 out to Al Attiyah, 13m16s out to Peterhansel, and 28m55s out to Nani Rome…
“We have to try to continue going day by day, and as Cholo Simeone says, go game by game,” commented Sainz after finishing eighth in the second stage, between Al Henakiyah and Al Duwadimi, in which his teammate, friend, won. and rival Stéphane Peterhansel, Monsieur Dakar, who raised the tally of his stage wins to 50, equaling the historical record in cars of the legendary Finn Ari Vatanen.
“The next objective is to try to finish tomorrow without problems because there will only be two hours to work on the car,” commented the Madrid native, who will be able to face today’s third stage (733 km, 438 timed) “starting from the back.” having placed 8th, “and thus recovering a little more time” with the rivals, since yesterday, when starting second, he had to open the track and that affected his navigation.
“I didn’t expect the stage to be so difficult to navigate; We have found many intersections, changes of pace… but the important thing is that we are leading,” commented Sainz, for whom “the priority is to try to arrive without problems,” and increase the advantage over his direct rivals.
The second stage of the Dakar has compressed the general classification, with the favorites already taking positions: Loeb, who was second of the day, 29 seconds behind Peterhansel, is emerging as Sainz’s great threat, just 4m17s behind, although he should also take into account the very young American Seth Quintero, Toyota’s bet (at 7m36s), in addition to the classics Al Attiyah (4th yesterday after losing almost 25 minutes with Sainz on Saturday), Peterhansel. For his part, Nani Roma was 17th yesterday (he lost more than 25 minutes) and is almost half an hour away in the general standings.
One of the standout figures of the day was Laia Sanz, who achieved an excellent 16th place (25m behind Peterhansel) which moved her up to 20th overall, 36m behind Sainz. Rome is 16th at 28m55s. Rookie Pau Navarro had worse luck, as he damaged his hand when the Mini overturned in a dangerous area. The X-Raid team hoped to repair the vehicle to try to leave today.
On motorcycles, the second stage was very eventful. In addition to the Catalan Carles Falcón, Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) from Salamanca had to retire, but due to a mechanical problem. Just 15 kilometers from the start of qualifying, the Spanish pilot had a breakdown and was forced to call assistance, who picked him up by helicopter, so he had to end his participation, one day after Tosha Schareina. . In two days, the two best Spanish assets are already out of the race.
The stage victory went to the Chilean Nacho Cornejo (Honda), ahead of Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) and Pablo Quintanilla (Honda). Cornejo is the new leader, with 7m15s over his teammate Ricky Brabec, and 15m20s over Quintanilla.
