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Another stage win for Al Attiyah as Sainz closes in on Dakar title

Sainz, ended the penultimate 13th stage from San Juan to Cordoba with with a lead of 46 minutes and 18 seconds.

Carlos Sainz and Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah

Bengaluru, January 20: Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah won the penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally, his second consecutive stage win and fourth in the 2018 edition of the gruelling event even as Carlos Sainz closed in on the title.

Sainz ended the penultimate 13th stage from San Juan to Cordoba with a lead of 46 minutes and 18 seconds over Toyota's Al Attiyah.

Though Nasser, the 2011 and 2015 champion, suffered badly in the fourth stage, he came come back splendidly in his Toyota to push Peugeot's Stephane Peterhansel into third overall.

With only 120km of timed special stage remaining around Cordoba, Sainz's second Dakar victory looks assured in what will be a fitting farewell for Peugeot's works team in their final appearance.

<strong>Sainz on course</strong>Sainz on course

The Spaniard took no risks on Friday's marathon 929km stage, which was dominated by Al Attiyah.

"There is still one stage left. Tomorrow there are 140km left and we will try to do our best and concentrate to keep our position. Today was very, very tough. It was easy to make a mistake or to crash, because it was really sandy with a lot of big trees. It wasn't easy, but OK... this is the Dakar," said the Red Bull athlete, who won the Dakar in 2011 and 2015.

Sainz finished 19 minutes and 37 seconds behind the Qatari.

"Since the start, there has been a lot of drama in this race and it's not over until we've crossed the finishing line. It's not a crazy Dakar, but it's very difficult. I hope everything will go OK tomorrow," Sainz, who is eeyeing his second Dakar crown.

Peterhansel, a 13-time Dakar winner on bikes and cars, had started the day second overall but clipped a tree with his front left wheel on a bend that was hidden by a bump.

The impact broke a steering rod, with the support team carrying out repairs once he was out of the timed zone, and also left the Frenchman with a sprained thumb.

The delay meant he lost about an hour and fell behind Al Attiyah in the standings.

Toyota's Dutch driver Bernhard ten Brinke retired with mechanical problems in a tricky rally which has already seen high-profile casualties like Sebastien Loeb and Andre Villas Boas.

(With Agency/Red Bull Media inputs).

Story first published: Saturday, January 20, 2018, 10:22 [IST]
Other articles published on Jan 20, 2018