The eleventh stage of the 2024 Dakar was absolutely decisive, as Carlos Sainz is now just one day away from certifying his fourth desert crown after his closest rival, Sebastien Loeb, was held back by a mechanical problem in which he lost more than an hour. The Spaniard then slowed down the pace to ensure he remained at the top of the general classification and, despite having everything in his favor, he remained very cautious.
After his mechanics and engineers applauded him upon arrival at the bivouac, the Spaniard stepped out of the car with a big smile on his face and addressed the media, including Motorsport.com, underlining that he still had to finish the final stage before certifying his fourth Touareg trophy.
“When there are so many stones, you think that at any moment you could get a puncture and then if another puncture comes it complicates things,” explained the Spaniard after getting out of his Audi. “We had a puncture with 40 kilometers to go and I was going slow, but then when I saw Loeb stopped I went even slower.”
When asked if he took his foot off the accelerator when he saw his rival for the win stop, he replied yes: “Yes, yes. The moment I saw him at least I knew I had made up ten minutes, but I didn't know the problem he had, however I took it calmly.”
A video showed Sebastien Loeb waving him calmly to where he stopped the car, at kilometer 132, and when asked if he had seen him, he said: “I saw he was there, but there there are so many stones that you don't have much time to look away, so I didn't see Sebastien's gesture.”
It was a breath of fresh air for the Spaniard, who is closer to victory, and that he was relieved he said: “Today was a very important stage to finish without problems. Fundamental, but my experience also tells me that the races have to be finished and there's one day left. We have to follow the same routine and stay focused.”
“With the experience I have, I know that races have to be finished, we did an excellent stage, but there are still 170 kilometers to go tomorrow. So we have to stay focused and continue to think about tomorrow, to control the car well, to watch the special and Lucas (Cruz, his co-driver) and I have to watch the special carefully”, concluded Carlos Sainz.
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