Clear sky
"We had one flat tyre and we stopped and changed. Third on the road tomorrow so that we can manage. I think the weather will be clearer tomorrow, so they should be able to run the whole stage," said Al Attiyah.
"Early morning, there was dust but, after 10.30, it was clearer sky with the strong wind. Sealine may have been a problem if we had gone to the other stage," the three-time Dakar Rally champion added.
Strong winds
Despite the strong winds, the revised timetable laid on by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation ran according to plan. Hungarian driver Balazs Szalay came home in fifth place on the day and held ninth in the general classification in his T1 Opel Grandland X.
South Racing mechanics repaired Austin Jones's damaged Can-Am overnight and the American restarted at the rear of the field.
Timing point
With nothing to lose, other than a stage win, Jones attacked and was fastest through the first timing point. He went on to claim the day's victory by 2min 01sec from Mubarak Al Hajri.
"I'm really happy with that. That's definitely what we wanted to do. Obviously we don't have much to lose, so I wasn't going to lift my foot off the throttle the entire time and that's what happens," said T3 stage winner Jones.
Final stage
The final selective section of 254.58km starts on the Zekret road and heads up the western shoreline before turning south at a passage control near Al Zubara, after 150.17km.
The final timed section then heads through the central deserts to finish at Ash Shafallahiyah.