RALLY DAKAR 2023

A speeding penalty deprives Sainz of his second stage victory

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz wanted to make up for the two darkest days of the Dakar 2023... but a speeding penalty has prevented them from achieving their second stage victory. The man from Madrid and the Catalan exceeded a speed radar (limited to 30) located in the special by more than 40 km/h and received a five-minute penalty that kept them from victory.

After suffering an accident on the 6th and having to assist Mattias Ekström yesterday, today they were able to go out and compete... and they left their mark on the track. But that (big) mistake has left them unrewarded. The triumph, the glory and the World Cup points, for Sebastien Loeb.

Clean stage and without problems ... Dominators from start to finish, his pace had been impossible to match for the rest. Only Loeb, who initially finished 1:29 behind the Spanish couple, rode at the pace of the Spaniard(image above). The Frenchman could even have won the stage without the effect of the penalty had there not been a puncture in his BRX Hunter (by none of the Spaniards).

"We had a clean stage, without major problems and we were able to have a bit of fun. We started quite behind, without dust thanks to the rain, but it could have been a problem if there was one," said Sainz on arrival in Ad Dawadimi ... before learning of the theatrical blow that turned the final result around.

The man from Madrid took advantage of the circumstance to show his disagreement with one of the changes established this season by the organization, the repositioning of priority riders (to which they are entitled when they suffer a setback that delays them excessively, as happened yesterday): "I think We have to improve this because previously when a priority driver had a problem he was immediately put in the top 15, but the two previous days we started 39 and 40 and this is not good for us or for the rest".

Sainz took stock of the first week of the Dakar: "It has been a very disappointing first week, with many problems for the whole team. The whole team has had bad luck, but we have no choice but to keep pushing. I feel lucky to be here after everything that has happened", he summed up.

Al-Attiyah takes it easy...The leader of the general classification, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), finished second in the stage after applying the penalty to the man from Madrid. The Qatari took it easy at the beginning of the stage, when the route was more complicated due to the presence of stones and the risk of punctures, but he recovered in the final part, with sand and dunes as the stage.

"We have pushed a lot since the start of the Dakar and that is why we now have this advantage, but now we want to be in the top three every day to score points for the championship," explained Al-Attiyah who, in addition to keeping his privileged position in the Dakar, already look at the W2RC.

Provisional classification of stage 8 of the Dakar 2023 in cars:

1. Sebastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin (BRX) 3h 34:24

2. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) at 2:11

3. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Audi) at 3:31

4. Henk Lategan/Bred Cummings (Toyota) at 4:43

5. Kuba Przygonsky/Armand Monleón (Mini) at 10:19

...

11. Juan Yacopini/Dani Oliveras (Toyota) at 18:58

23. Laia Sanz/Maurizio Gerini (Astara) at 33:35

25. Carlos Checa/Marc Sola (Astara) at 34:48

41. Isidre Esteve/Txema Villalobos (Toyota) at 51:39

Provisional general classification of cars for the Dakar 2023:

1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) 31h 02:58.

2. Henk Lategan/Bred Cummings (Toyota) at 1h 03:36

3. Lucas Moraes/Timo Gottschalk) at 2h 37:00

4. Sebastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin (BRX) at 3h 15:03

5. Giniel De Villiers/Dennis Murphy (Toyota) at 1h 36:47

...

10. Juan Yacopini/Dani Oliveras (Toyota) at 3:40:22

26. Isidre Esteve/Txema Villalobos (Toyota) at 6:02:18

29. Kuba Przygonsky/Armand Monleón (Mini) at 7h 16:09

by Enrique Naranjo