Al-Rajhi always a leader
The stage success of Nasser Al-Attiyah was in the air, even more so after the 3rd place obtained by the Qatari from Prodrive at the end of the fourth stage, the same one in which the British manufacturer had recorded the best time with Sèbastien Loeb. In the end, the five-time Dakar Rally champion managed to conquer the first victory of this 2024decisive to overtake Carlos Sainz in second position in the general classification and to aim for the leadership, once again occupied by Yazeed Al-Rajhian increasingly convincing leader despite the 4th place at the end of the test from Al Hofuf to Shubaytah.
Toyotas fly, Loeb disaster
In the special test of 118km, a small part of the 527 total, Al-Attiyah effectively commanded the entire stage, initially resisting the Audis of Sainz, Ekström and Peterhansel, in addition to the constant threat of Al-Rajhi's Toyota. However, the German cars lost pace in the second half of the test, opening the door for their Japanese rivals. While Al-Rajhi confirmed his leadership in the general classification with fourth position, maintaining a 9-minute advantage over Al-Attiyah, the protagonists were in particular Chicherit and above all the Argentine Yacopinirespectively 2nd and 3rd at the finish. Bad, therefore, the Audi: except for Ekström, still 7th, Sainz and Peterhansel finished in sixteenth and seventeenth position, with the Spaniard thus having to give up 2nd place to Al-Attiyah in the general ranking, still remaining on the podium in 11 minutes from Al-Rajhi. To forget, however, the performance of Loeb. The Frenchman, who started with the motivation derived from the victory of the fourth stage, however missed a waypoint, suffering for this reason a 15 minute penalty. An error that forced him to finish 28th, relegating him to ninth place in the general classification and 43 minutes behind the leader.
Dakar 2024, Car ranking – Stage 5 (Top-10)
| POS | PILOT | CAR | TIME / GAP |
| 1 | Al Attiyah – Baumel | Prodrive | 1:37.25 |
| 2 | Chicherit – Winocq | Toyota | +1.51 |
| 3 | Yacopini – Oliveras Carreras | Toyota | +1.58 |
| 4 | Al Rajhi – Gottschalk | Toyota | +2.00 |
| 5 | De Mevius – Panseri | Toyota | +3.08 |
| 6 | Lopez Contardo – Latrach Vinagre | Can Am | +3.22 |
| 7 | De Villiers–Murphy | Toyota | +4.20 |
| 8 | Ekström – Bergkvist | Audi | +5.16 |
| 9 | Jones–Gugelmin | Can Am | +5.26 |
| 10 | Goczal – Mena | Taurus | +5.28 |
Dakar 2024, General car ranking after stage 5 (Top-10)
| POS | PILOT | CAR | TIME / GAP |
| 1 | Al Rajhi – Gottschalk | Toyota | 17:24.04 |
| 2 | Al Attiyah – Baumel | Prodrive | +9.03 |
| 3 | Sainz–Cruz | CAR | +11.31 |
| 4 | Ekström – Bergkvist | Audi | +22.58 |
| 5 | Serradori – Minaudier | Century | +31.00 |
| 6 | Peterhansel–Boulanger | Audi | +34.12 |
| 7 | Zala – Fiuza | Mini | +37.07 |
| 8 | De Mevius – Panseri | Toyota | +41.51 |
| 9 | Loeb–Lurquin | Prodrive | +43.03 |
| 10 | Moraes – Monleon | Toyota | +54.47 |
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