Dakar 2022: Sainz wins Stage 3, Al Attiyah leads

Bengaluru, January 5: Rally legend Carlos Sainz wrote another chapter of Dakar history by recording the first-ever Dakar stage win by a T1-Ultimate machine - a category reserved for alternatively powered vehicles -- even as Nasser Al Attiyah extended his overall lead in the FIA Dakar 2022 Rally being held in the Saudi Arabian deserts.

The Spaniard tore through the stage in his Audi RS Q e-Tron to pick up his 40th stage win in Stage 3 of Dakar 2022 as Qatari ace Al Attiyah, behind the wheels of his now famous Toyota Hilux T1+, managed to extend his lead in the car race to over 37 minutes over Sebastien Loeb.

"I'm happy with the car, we were able to drive fast today. This is the first race for this car, so we're learning so much all the time," said Sainz.

The others from Audi factory-- France's defending champion Stephane Peterhansel and Sweden's Mattias Ekström -- finished the stage third and fifth respectively.

Frenchman Loeb had been pushing Al Attiyah hard across the dunes, but losing four-wheel drive on his BRX Hunter cost the nine-time World Rally Championship winner plenty of time.

"We tried to minimise risk today and finish the stage without any problems. I think we're in a good position for tomorrow's long and difficult stage," said three-time Dakar Rally champion Al Attiyah.

"It was a bad day for us. We broke the car's prop shaft so we lost four-wheel drive. Doing this stage with two-wheel drive was really tough. I'm happy to reach the end of the stage," rued Loeb.

Meanwhile, Spain's Laia Sanz continued her steep learning curve after switching from bikes into a MINI ALL4 Racing car.

The furious early pace of the 2022 FIA Dakar Rally was once again on display during Stage 3 with plenty packed into the 255kms of racing near Al Qaisumah, despite the timed special stage being shorted by 100kms due to heavy rains in the region.

In the bikes category, two-time winner Toby Price of Australia continued to fight back from the navigation confusion on Stage 1 that cost him dear with second place cutting down the gap to 26min, 21sec to leader Sam Sunderland of England.

"I got caught by some guys behind when I was trying to find a waypoint in the off-piste. Tomorrow looks like a long one, so I think it was best to hold off a little today," said Sunderland.

Price's fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders -- Kevin Benavides of Argentina and Matthias Walkner of Austria -- starred with defending champion Benavides eighth overall and Walkner third, just 90 seconds off the lead.

In trucks category, defending champion Dmitry Sotnikov of Russia continues to lead the charge for Team Kamaz Master as he sits on top with compatriots Eduard Nikolaev, Andrey Karginov and Anton Shibalov all behind.

There was another stage win to celebrate for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team in the T3 category as America's Seth Quintero helped himself to the Stage 3 win, his third of the rally so far.

Sadly, Stage 2 winner Guillaume De Mevius of Belgium came to a standstill after 14kms due to a broken transmission and Spaniard Cristina Gutierrez also stopped after 167kms, while team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway did not take to the start having retired from his debut Dakar.

(With Red Bull Media inputs)