The second special stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally was full of novelties, and one of the most important was the victory of Stéphane Peterhansel who equaled Ari Vatanen as the driver with the most stage victories in the toughest race in the world. However, as far as today is concerned, the name to keep an eye on was that of Carlos Sainz, who took the lead in the general classification.
The Spaniard took a creditable second place at the start of the event in Saudi Arabia, although he had to prove that his pace was still there the following day, a 463 kilometer timed stage to the Al Duwadimi bivouac. Once he got out of his Audi RS Q e-tron and finished the stage in eighth place, he declared that he didn't expect such difficult and treacherous navigation, and mentioned 'Cholo' Simeone (Atletico Madrid coach) to keep going strong.
“It was more or less what I expected,” the Spaniard told the media who spoke to him, including Motorsport.com, “I didn't expect it to be so difficult to navigate, very complicated. We suffered a lot to find the many intersections, many changes of course, but the important thing is that we are in the lead.”
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
#204 Team Audi Sport Audi RS Q e-tron E2: Carlos Sainz Sr., Lucas Cruz
“If you had asked me at the start of the race to be in front, we would have signed up, so positive, a good day for Audi, leading the race and with Stéphane [Peterhansel] winner”, recognized the Spaniard, who made a football analogy. “At the moment the car is responding well and we must try to move forward day by day, as 'Cholo' says [Simeone, allenatore dell’Atlético de Madrid]game by game, day by day.”
“Day by day, see what tomorrow's stage will be like, try to finish tomorrow without problems,” continued the Audi driver. “There will only be two hours to work on the car and let's see if tomorrow, starting from the back, we can make a good stage and make up some time.”
When asked if he intends to save something for the next stages to see how his rivals manage the gap, he replied: “There is little to save, if we start saving already…. We have to try to arrive without problems, It's a priority, but I'll save what I saved yesterday and today.”
Carlos Sainz also took time to congratulate his teammate for equaling Ari Vatanen in the number of stage victories in the Dakar Rally with 50: “Only an exceptional driver like him can do it. He's a guarantee, he's so solid, he knows this race so well that you can always count on him.”
#Dakar #Sainz #lead #act #39Cholo39 #Simeone
