The fifth stage of the 2024 Dakar was very short in terms of timed route, with only 118 kilometers of special stage, although it helped Nasser Al-Attiyah climb to second place in the general classification, ahead of Carlos Sainz. Which gives the Qatari a lot more confidence to face the rest of the race.
The Prodrive driver took his 48th victory in the event and was particularly happy, even if it might seem like poisonous candy because he will be opening the 48 Hours stage. Furthermore, speaking to the media, he responded to Motorsport.com's question, in which he underlined the key to this event: “There's a long way to go, I've seen a lot of people adopt the strategy of standing still to get a good position starting point, but none of them are thinking about what will happen after this stage, which will be the key to this Dakar.”
“If I lose tomorrow, I don't care, because I will start in a good position and I will be able to do my time in Ha'il, a place I know very well,” explained the five-time winner of the Touareg Trophy. “We opened many times, I did it many times without a line, and we achieved good results because we gave everything. It's a big stage, the speed will be low, and we have to prepare ourselves mentally. We can do a good job.”
“Some played the game, but not me, and maybe if things don't go so well tomorrow, I will be able to decelerate to put everything together and have a good starting position after the rest day,” continued Nasser Al- Attiyah about the special that will be divided into two days in the Empty Quarter.
With five stages completed, and approaching the halfway point of the Dakar, it is Yazeed Al Rajhi who leads the overall classification, and when the possibility of a battle against Carlos Sainz was put on the table, the Qatari said: “It seems Al Rajhi has done a good job: the Toyota is doing very well, it hasn't had any problems, maybe one or two punctures, while the others suffered them during the first four days. If it hadn't happened to us, we'd be in the lead now, but this is the Dakar” .
“I think the Dakar is starting now, because everyone wants to follow their own strategy. And I think it can work, because tomorrow, if you have a problem, you don't know what to do. But if you have a problem on any day you waste a lot of time, so I will try to do my best,” he continued.
Regarding the dispute over the number of stage successes in the Dakar he then concluded: “Yes, it's the 48th, with the Hunter. It's good because we were all very close from the start, and we suffered a lot of punctures, but now It seems to be going better on the dunes. We just have to prepare as best we can for tomorrow, which will be very important. I wish everyone good luck.”
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