The Madrid will face the last stage with more than ten minutes ahead of Al-Attiyah and Peterhansel
MADRID, Jan. 16 (SportsFinding) –
The Spanish rider Carlos Sainz (Mini), in cars, and the American Ricky Brabec (Honda), on motorcycles, have headed the final triumph in the Dakar Rally after the dispute this Thursday of the penultimate stage, a journey of 379 kilometers timed between Shubaytah and Haradh.
In cars, Sainz will face the last day with more than ten minutes of advantage over his rivals, specifically 10:17 over Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) and 10:23 over Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini), after a day in which he deactivated the 'attack mode' from other days and rolled with caution thinking about making the least possible mistakes.
The Madrid, who had the additional disadvantage of opening the track after his triumph of the previous day, was wasting time progressively with his two rivals at all kilometers of the day, although he controlled the situation at all times while Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah rolled at background, aware that their only option was to launch with everything to the dunes.
In this way, the Frenchman scored his fourth victory in this edition of the test by only ten seconds of difference over the Qatari, while Sainz finished third with more than eight minutes lost against 'Monsieur Dakar' in this second half of The dreaded marathon stage.
The Spanish, winner of the Dakar in 2010 and 2018, has everything in favor to conquer for the third time the toughest raid in the world, but remains on high alert because the last day is no triumphant 'ride'. It has a final effort of 374 kilometers timed between Haradh and Qiddiya where any breakdown or navigation error can be paid very expensive, although its regularity in this Dakar, where it has added 8 podiums in 11 stages, invites optimism.
For his part, Fernando Alonso (Toyota) returned to fight with the best after his spectacular turnaround on Wednesday and finished eighth to 16 minutes from the winner. In general, the Spaniard traced a position to be thirteenth one day after successfully finishing his good debut at the Dakar.
BRABEC ADMINISTS ITS RENT ON THE QUINTANILLA WINNER
The panorama among the big favorites is similar in the motorcycle category, where Ricky Brabec managed his advantage in this penultimate stage without risking the slightest, supported by the large 25-minute mattress with which he faced the day.
The American finished tenth, his second worst result, almost 12 minutes from his great rival Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna), who came out from the start to add his second stage win for just nine seconds against the Austrian Matthias Walkner (KTM) .
Thus, Brabec will face the last stage with a 13:56 advantage over the Chilean. Given that the motorcycle stages are usually very tight, just a misfortune would prevent him from celebrating the first Dakar of his career.
Meanwhile, Joan Barreda (Honda) had a bad day and fell to the fifth position of the general after yielding more than 14 minutes in goal. The Spaniard is 16 seconds from fourth place, held by Walkner, and if he wants to get on the final podium he must also cut 7:35 to Toby Price (KTM), third place.