Carlos Sainz Sr, driver for the Audi team, has reclaimed his position as the leader of the Dakar Rally this Thursday, following the unfortunate withdrawal of Yazeed Al-Rajhi from the Overdrive Toyota team. Al-Rajhi, who was leading the competition, suffered a serious accident, colliding with a dune at the start of the 48-hour timed stage, resulting in severe damage to his Toyota Hilux.
The 48-hour stage, an innovation by Dakar organizers ASO, tested the resilience and strategy of the drivers. With a shortened distance of 549 km (originally 579 km), competitors faced the challenge of completing the route in two days without external assistance from their teams. This unique format not only divided the stage based on distance but also time, forcing drivers to cover the maximum distance possible before 4 p.m. and then stop at the next available bivouac.
Sainz, skillfully navigating the Empty Quarter, one of the world's largest sand deserts, gradually extended his lead over the chasing pack, led by his teammate Stephane Peterhansel, and later by Mattias Ekstrom. By the end of the day, with a time of 5h22m00s for the first 398 km, Sainz established himself as the provisional leader in both the stage and the overall standings.
While Sainz and Ekstrom celebrated the 1-2 for Audi halfway through Stage 6, Peterhansel faced technical issues that dropped him in the rankings. On the other hand, Prodrive team's Sebastien Loeb showed competitive performance, finishing the day in third place, just 5m19s behind Sainz.
Lucas Moraes from the Toyota team finished the stage as the top Toyota driver in fourth place, although he lost 19m15s to the leaders. Surprisingly, Eryk Goczal achieved fifth place, surpassing even reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah from the Prodrive team. Al-Attiyah, cautious in his progress without the guidance of motorcycles, which took a different route, initially found himself outside the top 40.
At the end of the first day of the 48-hour stage, Sainz solidifies his lead with a 15-minute advantage over Ekstrom, his teammate, although it's challenging to compare them directly as they stopped at different bivouacs. Al-Attiyah, despite setbacks, remains a strong contender overall, standing in third place, 21m41s behind Sainz, with Loeb not far behind.
