Al-Attiyah plays it safe to stay on course for back-to-back Dakar wins
Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah's strategy of playing it safe saw him move a step closer to retaining his Dakar Rally title and his fifth in all following Tuesday's ninth stage.
Sebastien Loeb Sport News
Loeb wins again as Dakar champion Al-Attiyah eyes fifth title
French driver Sebastien Loeb won his second successive stage and fourth in all at this year's Dakar Rally though Qatari defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah remains firmly in charge.
WATCH | Al-Attiyah extends Dakar lead despite eighth-place finish in Stage 9
Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) enjoyed mixed fortunes in Stage 9 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, but managed to bring all three factory crews across the finish line. But it was not how they envisioned it to go.
Loeb wins stage but Al-Attiyah remains on course for back-to-back Dakar wins
RIYADH: Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah’s strategy of playing it safe saw him move a step closer to retaining his Dakar Rally title and his fifth in all following Tuesday’s ninth stage. The 52-year-old Toyota driver finished 11min 8sec adrift of the stage winner, nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb. However, the pressure further eased on Al-Attiyah as his closest pursuer overnight, the South African driver Henk Lategan, suffered a mechanical problem and lost 40 minutes.
Rallying-Loeb wins Dakar ninth stage, Sainz suffers crash
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb won the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally, a special 358km trek between Riyadh and Haradh, for Bahrain Raid Xtreme on Tuesday while Carlos Sainz's Audi had a major crash.
Al-Attiyah plays it safe to stay on course for back-to-back Dakar wins
Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah's strategy of playing it safe saw him move a step closer to retaining his Dakar Rally title and his fifth in all following Tuesday's ninth stage.
Loeb takes Dakar Rally stage after Sainz caught speeding
Sebastien Loeb grabbed victory Sunday in the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally after Carlos Sainz was hit with a five-minute penalty.
Dakar legend Peterhansel crashes out, Al-Attiyah wins stage six — weather hits Saturday’s stage
RIYADH: France’s Stephane Peterhansel, a record 14-time winner of the Dakar Rally, crashed out of the 2023 edition on Friday as Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah won the sixth stage in his Toyota.The 57-year-old Peterhansel, whose nickname is ‘Mr Dakar’ after eight car victories and six on a motorbike, “had an accident after 212km of the day’s special,” organizers said.“His co-pilot Edouard Boulanger has been injured by the impact leaving him with pain in the back. He has been evacuated by the Dakar medical team to the hospital in Buraydah to undergo further examinations.”Peterhansel told AFP that he did not remember the car landing such was the violence of the accident, suggesting that Boulanger had taken hold of the steering wheel before their car came to a halt.Peterhansel’s Audi team-mate Carlos Sainz, a three-time former Dakar car winner, also suffered an accident at the same place.Sainz and his co-pilot were unharmed, according to organizers, but any hopes of victory were washed away after hours spent trying to fix their Audi in the middle of the desert.In the absence of Peterhansel and in light of Sainz’s problems, Al-Attiyah made no mistake in notching up his third stage victory despite mechanical problems of his own.The defending champion won the stage 3min 29sec ahead of nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive), with South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) 8:52 adrift.Lategan moves into second in the overall standings, 1hr 06min behind Al-Attiyah, with Brazilian Lucas Moraes (Overdrive) in third, a further 7min off the pace.“It was a very tough stage, not easy,” said Al-Attiyah.