The return to the race, after the rest day of the 2024 Dakar, was marked by the victory in the seventh stage of Sebastien Loeb, who is now 19 minutes behind Carlos Sainz in the general classification reserved for cars. Furthermore, the Spaniard will now not have the support of his teammate Mattias Ekstrom at the top of the standings, as the Swede had a problem with his Audi RS Q e-tron which caused him to lose more than two hours.
When the Spaniard returned from the 483 kilometer timed special, visibly tired and still with a plate of food in hand to recover his energy, he spoke to the media, including Motorsport.com, and gave his perspective on how the stage went, in which he finished fourth.
The Spaniard highlighted how navigation was one of the most complex aspects of the day and said: “It was a difficult day, with a lot of navigation. We had some punctures, so it wasn't a perfect day. Also, 'Seb' ( Loeb) made a great stage, and losing ten minutes is a lot. In the rocky area we had a slow puncture, and we have to watch it, it's very easy on the rocks, it's a lottery.”
“It was very difficult to find a couple of waypoints: we had to turn, we didn't waste much time. But there were also a lot of stones, which we took carefully. Despite this, we had a puncture… it's complicated,” he continued Carlos Sainz, who praised the work of his rival in a very complicated stage for the mechanics.
The Spaniard said he tried to give his all and congratulated the nine-time WRC champion for the work he had done aboard the Hunter: “I went quite fast, as fast as I could, but, to be honest, Loeb did a super stage”.
When asked if starting behind his rival will be an advantage for him, he replied that it is better to wait and see if he can have a slightly more relaxed stage: “Today he opened and gave everyone their pay, let's see tomorrow. Let's wait and see if we can have a more relaxed stage.”
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