RALLY DAKAR 2024

Carlos Sainz resists Loeb: he will defend 20 minutes in three days

One less stage and same race situation. That is the best news that Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz can receive every day in their defense of the leadership of the Dakar 2024 and that is exactly what they did today on the way to Al-Ula, in a fast 428-kilometer special in which the differences have been minimal.

The Spanish couple has lost just 4:14 over Loeb, a tiny distance considering that Audi opened the track with its three swords while Loeb started from behind and with the need to take risks. As a result of this, he takes the stage victory (there are already four in this Dakar) but a meager loot in the general classification.

Of course, Loeb also had his substitute today, this time in the form of punctures: "We had two in the middle of the stage that forced us to slow down at the end so as not to have a third," he explained. Perhaps that has prevented him from opening a greater gap, but the fact is that those 20 minutes are the barrier that he will have to break down in the next two days: "The difference is still big but there are three stages left, so... we are going to continue squeezing".

Loeb shaves 4:14 off Sainz, who maintains more than 20 minutes in the general classification.ASO/Charly López

(Almost) perfect strategy...As expected, Audi immediately stopped Peterhansel to escort Sainz and threw Ekström ahead to set a benchmark for them. The tactic worked well until the Swede accumulated two punctures and had to lift his foot to avoid running out of spare wheels.

Then, control passed to Sainz and Cruz... and there began some small stress: "In the end it was a super stressful stage in the car due to the complication of navigation once we reached Mattias." But the loss of time is not serious, and that fills the Madrid native with optimism: "I'm happy, taking into account that I've been open for a long time. We've spent another day," he said at the finish line.

Sainz set a high pace, but without taking unnecessary risks, which just explained the distance obtained by Loeb who had no choice but to force the machine. In addition to the result, the good news for Sainz is that tomorrow he will once again have Peterhansel close, who will start six minutes after the Spaniard... and it should be Loeb who gives up time.

Al-Attiyah does not raise his head...This is not Nasser Al-Attiyah's Dakar. The Qatari, who changed the Toyota for the Hunter after becoming World Rally Raid Champion for the second time, has had to return by road to the Al-Ula camp.

After yesterday's engine problem, his Hunter - with a new engine - stopped again... in the first kilometer!! This time with the power steering (another weak point of the British car that, in fact, already warned in the shakedown itself with a leak in the system).

Al-Attiyah abandons the test again although he will have a second option to rejoin... and he only has one more option left before he exhausts his jokers.

Classification stage 9 in cars:

Dakar 2024

Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin (BRX) - 4h 17:33

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (Audi) at 4:14

Mathieu Serradori/Loic Minaudier (Century) at 4:43

Guillaume De Mevius/Xavier Panseri (Toyota) at 9:52

Denis Krotov/Konstantin Zhiltsov (Toyota) at 10:21

Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger (Audi) at 10:34

Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleón (Toyota) at 11:03

Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist (Audi) - 3h 14:08

Romain Dumas/Max Delfino (Toyota) at 14:18

Giniel De Villiers/Dennis Murphy (Toyota) at 11:18

Enrique Naranjo