Stage 11 of the Dakar 2024 probably marked the end of the hostilities for the final victory of the Car class. Carlos Sainz is now on his way to achieving his fourth success in the most famous rally raid in the world. If this were the case, he would be fourth with as many manufacturers: Volkswagen, Peugeot, MINI and, if tomorrow he were to finish ahead of everyone in the general ranking, also with Audi.
The Madrilenian didn't manage the advantage today. He tried to undermine his only opponent, Sébastien Loeb, taking advantage of the excellent starting position compared to the Alsatian. At kilometer 132 the real turning point of the stage and, probably, of the race, with Loeb who was forced to stop due to the A-arm of the right front suspension breaking on his Hunter.
Once he got out to inspect the damage, Loeb realized there was nothing more he could do. As Sainz passed, while he was intent on pointing out the stopped vehicle, the two exchanged a couple of nods to clarify that everything was in order from a physical point of view, then the Madrilenian continued his journey.
When everything seemed to have been decided, with Loeb even announced as withdrawn by those managing communications for the Dakar, Sébastien found help in the YunXiang team. The Japanese team, made up of Feilong Liu and Yicheng Wang, stopped and handed over the necessary components to Loeb, who was thus able to continue the stage in an unexpected way.
While Carlos Sainz arrived comfortably at the finish line, also signing third place in the stage, Loeb started pushing to try to maintain at least third position in the general classification. Séb could not have known that Lucas Moraes was also in difficulty, so much so that he missed out on the Top 3.
At the finish line, Loeb still found himself in third position, but only because of the problem that stopped the Brazilian driver of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team. Guillaume De Mevius, thanks to second place in the stage, mocked the driver of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, climbing to second position in the general classification with a margin of 7 minutes over his new rival.
Speaking of the stage, Guerlain Chicherit granted an encore by winning the race that took the caravan from Al-Ula to Yanbu, where the race will arrive tomorrow when the last circular stage will take place, with departure and arrival in the same city.
For Chicherit it is the second consecutive stage victory after the one obtained yesterday, while Overdrive Racing also celebrates the double thanks to the second place of Guillaume De Mevius. A 1-2 which demonstrates the strength of the private team fielding the Toyota Hilux T1Us, while the official teams are all behind the two drivers who have become top drivers after Al-Rajhi's retirement in the first kilometers of Stage 6.
Said of Carlos Sainz's third place with the first Audi RS Q e-tron, behind him we find teammate Mattias Ekstroem. The Swede, despite being outside the Top 10 in the general classification, has shown exceptional progress compared to the last edition and it would be a shame if he ended his adventure in the Middle East as Audi will certainly do at the end of this 46th edition of the Dakar.
The Top 5 of the Saood Variawa stage closes, with the best result in 2024 at the wheel of the first official Toyota GR Hilux T1U. Vhristian Lavieille also did well, surprisingly sixth ahead of another Overdrive Racing team driver, the Argentine Juan Cruz Yacopini. Vaidotas Zala took the first MINI John Cooper Works to eighth place ahead of Nani Roma's Ford M-Sport. Closing the Top 10 is Guy David Botterill with the second official Toyota Hilux.
As for the general classification, Carlos Sainz and Audi Sport are now heading towards the final victory. Only one stage is missing from success, tomorrow's, while behind him Cuillaume De Mevius and Sébastien Loeb will fight until the last kilometer to take second place.
The Belgian from the Ovedrive Racing team is almost an hour and a half behind the Audi driver from Madrid, while Loeb is an hour and 36 minutes behind his now former rival for the win. Both, however, will have to pay close attention to Cuerlain Chicherit, fourth and a few minutes away from the podium. The Frenchman from Ovedrive Racing is the fittest driver at the moment and we can be sure that tomorrow he will try to make it three ways to get on the podium.
#Dakar #Car #Stage #Loeb #collapses #Sainz #step #success
