Sébastien Loeb becomes latest high-profile withdrawal at Dakar 10.01.2018: Photo caption: (clockwise) Stéphane Peterhansel, Sébastien Loeb, Ignacio Casale and Matthias Walkner © Marcelo Maragni/Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

Photo caption: (clockwise) Stéphane Peterhansel, Sébastien Loeb, Ignacio Casale and Matthias Walkner © Marcelo Maragni/Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool




The 2018 Dakar Rally took no mercy on competitors on stage five as it plunged them into the Peruvian desert once again. Paying a heavy price for getting stuck in the dunes were nine-time WRC winners Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Daniel Elena (MON) who saw their Dakar come to a premature end.



As a result of clocking yesterday’s fastest time Loeb was handed the job of driving the first car onto today’s stage which featured the soft sands of Tanaka. The pitfalls of the desert rendered Loeb’s Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi unmovable and when his co-driver Elena fell ill then the decision was made to call it a day. Loeb’s retirement comes after yesterday’s forced departures of reigning bike race champion Sam Sunderland (GBR) and football manager turned rally racer André Villas-Boas (POR).



“We got to a place where there was another competitor stopped on a crest: in order not to have to stop while we were climbing I went right to avoid him...but there was a hole just over the crest that we hadn’t seen. We hit it hard. There was nothing more we could do but wait for the truck to pull us out. Daniel was in a lot of pain from the impact. We even finished the stage really slowly, in order not to make the pain worse. Given Daniel’s injury, we were left with no option but to retire.” – Sébastien Loeb


Better news for Team Peugeot Total came from multiple winners Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean Paul Cottret (FRA) who increased their overall lead in the car category. The French duo used all their experience to come through one of the toughest stages of this year’s Dakar unscathed.



“We didn't have any problems, but it was extremely tricky. These dunes were the most difficult ones since the start of the rally.” – Stéphane Peterhansel



Other big winners in the car race were Bernhard Ten Brinke (NDL)/Michel Perin (FRA) who bagged the second fastest time on the stage to move into third overall.


The two other Peugeot crews of Carlos Sainz (ESP)/Lucas Cruz (ESP) and Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) were unable to keep pace with the race leaders but arrived back in the Arequipa bivouac after a solid day of driving. Sainz is second overall, 31m16s behind Peterhansel.



“We're always very happy to be in the race. This is the most positive thing that's happened to us in the last two days.” – Cyril Despres



It was another frustrating days for the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA crews of Giniel de Villiers (ZAF)/ Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA). Although these pairs clocked the third and fifth fastest times on the stage they were unable to close the gap between themselves and Peterhansel at the front of the race. Al-Attiyah is fourth overall, 01h23m21s behind Peterhansel while De Villiers is fifth overall and a further 11 minutes back.


On the bikes the fight to get back on top of the general classification is well and truly underway from Joan Barreda (ESP). Barreda won today’s stage in fine style to cut the gap between himself and overall leader Adrien Van Beveren (FRA). Also moving closer to Van Beveren on stage five was Red Bull KTM Factory Team rider Matthias Walkner (AUT) who now holds second overall.


“I don’t have a defined strategy because at the Dakar things can change so quickly. You need to be able to adapt to what’s going on around you at all times.” – Matthias Walkner



Not too far behind Walkner on the stage, as well as in the overall rankings, are his team-mates Antoine Méo (FRA) and Toby Price (AUS). Méo reminded the bivouac with his fourth place on the route to Arequipa that he has the speed to compete at the sharp end of the bike race.



“I’m really satisfied with my day. We just made one small mistake at the end but nothing like what happened yesterday.” – Antoine Méo



There was drama in the truck race when race leader Eduard Nikolaev (RUS) made a mistake on a dune that put his Kamaz truck on its side. The operation to get the big blue beast back on its wheels could have taken hours, but luckily for Nikolaev righting the truck turned out to be a fairly routine operation. So routine in fact that Nikolaev would go on to win the stage and increase his overall lead.



“It was a big relief to be able to quickly find a solution for the problem we had on the stage. Increasing our lead on a difficult stage like we had today is a great result for the team.” – Eduard Nikolaev


Just as things seem to be going the way of Nikolaev in the truck race there’s plenty of encouraging signs for Ignacio Casale (CHI) in the quad race. Another fine ride from Casale saw him pick up the day’s second fastest time in his category. An injury has forced Casale’s closest rival Sergei Karyakin (RUS) to retire meaning that the Chilean quad biker now holds an advantage of over 40 minutes from Alexis Hernandez (PER) who has been promoted to second overall.



Tomorrow brings with it the first border crossing of the Dakar’s 40th anniversary edition as the convoy leaves Peru and enters Bolivia. The altitude of the Bolivian Altiplano replaces the dunes of Peru as the major challenge facing racers alongside growing tiredness.



The 40th edition of the Dakar Rally takes place from January 6 until January 20. Watch daily updates of all the action from South America at www.RedBull.com/Dakar.

         


Top 3 Overall Results


Overall standings after Stage 5 – Cars


1. STEPHANE PETERHANSEL (FRA)  PEUGEOT  13:27:26
2. CARLOS SAINZ  (ESP)  PEUGEOT  +00:31:16
3. BERNHARD TEN BRINKE  (NLD)  TOYOTA  +01:15:16



Overall standings after Stage 5 – Bikes

1. ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN (FRA) YAMAHA 14:37:40
2. KEVIN BENAVIDES  (ARG)  HONDA  +00:01:00
3. MATTHIAS WALKNER (AUT) KTM  +00:01:14



Overall standings after Stage 5 – Quads

1. IGNACIO CASALE  (CHI)  YAMAHA 17:14:52
2. ALEXIS HERNANDEZ  (PER)   YAMAHA  +00:40:13
3. PABLO COPETTI  (ARG)  YAMAHA  +00:58:37



Overall standings after Stage 5 – Trucks


1. EDUARD NIKOLAEV  (RUS)  KAMAZ  15:59:39
2. FEDERICO VILLAGRA  (ARG)  IVECO  +00:58:05
3. SIARHEI VIAZOVICH  (BLR)  MAZ  +02:28:46






Quotes



Sébastien Loeb #306: “It was a very complicated start: the sand was very loose, the car just wouldn’t climb up the dunes, and we got stuck more or less straight away for 20 minutes or so. Then when we got going again, we were able to follow the tracks from everyone else, and that helped a lot. We got to a place where there was another competitor stopped on a crest: in order not to have to stop while we were climbing I went right to avoid him...but there was a hole just over the crest that we hadn’t seen. We hit it hard. There was nothing more we could do but wait for the truck to pull us out. Daniel was in a lot of pain from the impact. We even finished the stage really slowly, in order not to make the pain worse. Given Daniel’s injury, we were left with no option but to retire.”



Stéphane Peterhansel #300: “We didn't have any problems, but it was extremely tricky. These dunes were the most difficult ones since the start of the rally. Seb and Carlos simply got stuck in the sand. Helping them was out of the question because we couldn't get close. If you stop, you're stuck for good!”


Carlos Sainz #303: “It was a very complicated stage and we could have lost a lot more. We are not 100 percent satisfied with the day but we finished it in a satisfactory position and we are well placed overall. We want to continue like this and to reach La Paz without any drama.”



Cyril Despres #308: “We're always very happy to be in the race. This is the most positive thing that's happened to us in the last two days. We spent 10 exhausting hours in the dust, at night, under stress. We drew on our reserves, without power steering and little sleep. First special section today was good. We stopped for 10 minutes with Sébastien and Daniel to see how we could help them but there was nothing we could do. We lacked lucidity in the 2nd special stage because of the tiredness accumulated yesterday. At the end, we preferred to go home safely without damaging the car. We still finish 8th of the stage. The last two days have given us important experience for the future.”


Nasser Al-Attiyah #301: “It was a nice stage, but we had bad luck also. We broke the gearbox and we were lucky to get through the stage. We fixed it and we finished and we are here now. We need to work very hard now for the next nine days, because we see today many people retired like Sébastien (Loeb). It is still a long race. I drive at a good speed without any risks because we need to finish the stage.”



Giniel De Villiers #304: “The sand in the first section was insanely soft. We got stuck in the same place as five other cars. We looked for a way out and settled on deflating the tyres to 0.5 bar. We also had a flat tyre right before the finish! These are the toughest dunes you will find. There’s nothing tougher than this.”



Matthias Walkner #2: “Things weren’t so bad today, but again there were lots of sand dunes and the navigation was really tricky. I didn’t take too many risks today because this was a stage where it was possible to lose a lot of time. I don’t have a defined strategy because at the Dakar things can change so quickly. You need to be able to adapt to what is going on around you at all times. Things are always changing here.




Toby Price #8: “It was a pretty long and difficult stage. I made a couple more navigational errors today so it could have been more comfortable than it turned out to be. But we’re here at the finish line and we’re always happy with that. I’m going to have to keep my head in the roadbook a bit more in the stages still to come.”



Antoine Méo #19: “I caught up with Toby pretty early in the day and things kept on in a good way from there. I’m really satisfied with my day. We just made one small mistake at the end but nothing big like what happened yesterday.”



Eduard Nikolaev #500: “It was a big relief to be able to quickly find a solution for the problem we had on the stage. The dunes are so dangerous that things like that can happen at any time so you need to maintain your focus at all times. After we got back to racing we were able to get into a good rhythm and it’s amazing that we finish the stage with the fastest time. Increasing our lead on a difficult stage like we had today is a great result for the team.”




Christina Gaither-