Marathon stage
Stages three and four of the Merzouga Rally combined to make a marathon stage, meaning Al Attiyah and Baumel would be left on their own, with no mechanical assistance, overnight with their new vehicle.
The pair took this in their stride as they recorded the quickest time on both stages to increase their lead in the SxS category.
Awesome day
"We got lost! In the last five kilometres. We were intent on following a bike in front of us, but it turned out the rider had made a navigational mistake.
In the end we didn't lose too much time and it was still an awesome day," said a beaming Al Attiyah.
Clean sweep
The last remaining stage, dubbed the Grand Prix of the Dunes, saw Al Attiyah and Baumel finish off the job.
They made it a clean sweep of five stage wins as they motored through the 48-kilometre final stage, setting the fastest time as they had done all week.
Memorable year
"I'm now a big fan of racing side-by-side and it would be great if we can get some more of the top Dakar guys to try this," said Al Attiyah.
With wins now in 2019 at the Dakar Rally, the Qatar Cross-Country Rally and now the Afriquia Merzouga Rally it's shaping up to be another memorable year for Al Attiyah and Baumel.