In the tenth stage, both contenders for victory have to contend with problems – Sebastien Loeb ultimately makes up seven minutes on Carlos Sainz
The automobile race at the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia remained exciting throughout the tenth stage. Both leader Carlos Sainz (Audi) and runner-up Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive) had to contend with difficulties and punctures. Both finished outside the top 10 in the daily results. Two days before the finish in Yanbu, Sainz only has a 13-minute lead over Loeb
The tenth stage was a loop around Al’-Ula. The terrain in this area is characterized by large rock formations. Warnings about possible tire damage in this area had already been issued in advance. The special stage covered 371 kilometers.
Loeb was first on the starting line and Sainz second. Sainz started the day with a lead of 20:33 minutes in the overall standings. But even before things had really got underway, the Prodrive camp had their first moment of shock.
Loeb had had to stop briefly on the connecting route from the bivouac to the start of the special to fix a problem with his Hunter. And when the race against the clock finally got underway, the red car stopped for a few moments after just 53 kilometers.
But Loeb was able to continue. At the 91-kilometre mark, Sainz had opened up a two-minute lead over Loeb in the virtual interim standings. The cat-and-mouse game had begun. After 138 kilometers, the situation was reversed.
Because Sainz had had to stop briefly, Loeb gained a lead of around four minutes in the intermediate standings. Little changed at first. Loeb was able to increase his lead over Sainz to around five minutes by kilometer 225.
Then everyone at Audi held their breath. Sainz was more than ten minutes ahead at kilometer 248. His teammates Mattias Ekström and Stephane Peterhansel were quickly on hand to help. Meanwhile, Loeb continued to press the gas pedal at the front of the track
By the time Sainz was able to continue, his lead in the overall standings had melted to less than five minutes! But Loeb was caught out at kilometer 300. The Prodrive came to a standstill for around five minutes until he too was able to continue.
In the end, Sainz only had Peterhansel to support him, because the Ekström-Audi stopped at the spot where Sainz had had the problem. Nevertheless, the pendulum swung back in his direction, as his lead in the overall standings grew again by kilometer 307.
Loeb finally reached the finish. When Sainz also crossed the line, it became apparent that he had lost around seven minutes on his opponent in the day’s results. As both contenders for victory had various difficulties, both finished the day outside the top 10.
In the overall standings, Sainz defended a lead of 13:22 minutes over Loeb two days before the finish in Yanbu. “I lost seven or eight minutes,” was Sainz’s first comment on his day. “I had to wait for Mattias because I ran out of tires.”
Ekström left his two spare tires to his teammate. Loeb had to do without the support of a team-mate. After several technical problems with his Hunter, Nasser Al-Attiyah has already departed
“It was a tough day for us. We had a problem with the car’s jack and two punctures,” reported Lob in an initial statement. “We had to climb on rocks to somehow lift the rear tire to change it.”
“We lost about 15 minutes that way. That’s obviously a bit frustrating, but okay,” sighs the Frenchman, who is chasing his first overall Dakar victory. “The stages are tough.”
In the shadow of the exciting duel for overall victory, Guerlain Chicherit (Overdrive-Toyota) decided the tenth stage in his favor. Brian Baragwanath with the new Century CR7-T and Benediktas Vanagas (Toyota) completed the top 3.
On Thursday, the race continues south from Al-‘Ula to the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea. With 480 kilometers to cover, the last big endurance test is on the agenda. The last stage on Friday comprises only 175 kilometers in a loop around Yanbu
Results of the 10th stage (Top 10):
01st Chicherit/Winocq (Overdrive-Toyota Hilux) – 3:19:27 hours
02nd Baragwanath/Cremer (Century CR7-T) +5:43 minutes
03 Vanagas/Sikk (Toyota Hilux) +6:04
04 Amos/Ceci (Overdrive-Toyota Hilux) 6:09
05th Dumas/Delfino (Rebellion-Toyota Hilux) +7:12
06th Serradori/Minaudier (Century CR6-T) +10:03
07th Baumgart/Andreotti (X-Rally Prodrive Hunter) +10:21
08. Yacopini/Oliveras Carreras (Overdrive-Toyota Hilux) +10:27
09th Prokop/Chytka (MP-Sports Ford Raptor) +11:58
10. de Mevius/Panseri (Overdrive-Toyota Hilux) +12:01
[…]16th Loeb/Lurquin (Prodrive Hunter) +17:37
[…]25th Sainz/Cruz (Audi RS Q e-tron) +24:48
Overall standings after 10 of 12 stages (Top 10):
01st Sainz/Cruz (Audi RS Q e-tron) – 41:35:12 hours
02nd Loeb/Lurquin (Prodrive Hunter) +13:22 minutes
03. Moraes/Monleon (Toyota Hilux) +1:02:44 hours
04. de Mevius/Panseri (Overdrive-Toyota Hilux) +1:27:09
05th Chicherit/Winocq (Overdrive Toyota Hilux) +1:47:55
06. Serradori/Minaudier (Century CR6-T) +1:48:59
07th Prokop/Chytka (MP-Sports Ford Raptor) +1:59:58
08. de Villiers/Murphy (Toyota Hilux) +2:17:20
09th Botterilk/Cummings (Toyota Hilux) +2:24:26
10th Vanagas/Sikk (Toyota Hilux) +2:40:51