Fight for the car victory in Dakar stage 8 sixty km to go 11.01.2021: DAKAR RALLY Stage 8 from Sakaka to Neom Monday, January 11th 2021 13:10 Al-Attiyah gains ground! Sixty kilometres from the finishing line, Nas

DAKAR RALLY
Stage 8 from Sakaka to Neom
Monday, January 11th 2021




13:10 Al-Attiyah gains ground!

Sixty kilometres from the finishing line, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz have opened up a gap over their rivals. The Qatari leads the Spaniard by 38’’, but more importantly, he has an advantage of 2’30’’ over his direct rival for overall victory, Stéphane Peterhansel, who is still in third!



12:44 Big loss for Al-Rajhi

Yazeed Al-Rajhi encountered mechanical problems after 193 km and has lost almost an hour to stage leader Nasser Al-Attiyah after 225 km. The race’s local representative will not be making it a second consecutive victory today.



12:38 Al-Attiyah regains the lead as Peterhansel eases up

After 225 km, Nasser Al-Attiyah is again in front, with a lead of 25’’ over Carlos Sainz. Only 32’’ behind, Stéphane Peterhansel is not threatened by the fourth placed crew of Cyril Despres and Mike Horn who trail by more than four minutes.



12:00 Peterhansel leads!

Stéphane Peterhansel has moved into the lead after 190 km, but only by ten seconds ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah and 50’’ in front of Carlos Sainz. Cyril Despres and his co-pilot Mike Horn occupy fourth place, almost four minutes behind the current stage leader. It looks like being a three-way battle for victory today!



11:45 Minor mechanical delay for Serradori and Lurquin

Mathieu Serradori ground to a halt for several minutes after approximately 111 km due to a mechanical problem, but has been able to resume the stage and carry on towards Neom.



11:27 Loeb at a standstill

Sébastien Loeb was 32nd to start and had enjoyed an excellent start to the special, reaching the first intermediate point in ninth position, only 2’18’’ behind stage leader Nasser Al-Attiyah. However, after 43 km approximately, the Frenchman has again been halted by a mechanical problem, obliging him to stop and try to repair.




11:22 Setback for Al-Rajhi

At the last time check point (after 161 km), Yazeed Al-Rajhi, who was in fourth position, a little way behind Stéphane Peterhansel, has lost almost five minutes to the Frenchman. The Saudi, who won yesterday, seems to have encountered a setback of some sort.



11:02 Al-Attiyah tries to open up a gap

At the second time check point, Nasser Al-Attiyah leads the stage by one minute in front of Mini drivers Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel, while Yazeed Al-Rajhi trails the Qatari by 1’44’’. Cyril Despres, who enjoyed his best result of the year yesterday, is in fifth position, approximately 2’30’’ behind the current stage leader.




10:46 Loeb prepares the future for his BRX

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena again came up against misfortune yesterday, breaking a wheel hub just a few kilometres from the finishing line. Nevertheless, the crew were able to repair and finish the stage. For Loeb and Elena, their aim is now to reach the bivouac this evening and to continue developing and fine-tuning their BRX. As for Nani Roma, also behind the wheel of a Prodrive, he has encountered fewer problems and has enjoyed three consecutive top 10 finishes.




10:40 Peterhansel would have preferred a better result

Stéphane Peterhansel led the fight for a long time on the first half of the marathon stage, but after hitting a rock and breaking a wheel rim, the Frenchman lost a bit of time. Although he was able to extend his lead over his rival Nasser Al-Attiyah in the general standings, “Mister Dakar” still regretted not having been able to make more of the opportunity.



10:33 Al-Attiyah takes the lead

Having started fourth this morning, Nasser Al-Attiyah is now out in front on the stage at the first intermediate point, with a lead of 16’’ over Carlos Sainz and 27’’ over yesterday’s winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi. As for Stéphane Peterhansel, he trails his rival in the general standings by 30’’.




10:31 Best result for Despres and Horn

Cyril Despres and explorer Mike Horn enjoyed their best result of the year yesterday, finishing in seventh place, 17’ behind stage winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi. The crew erred on the side of caution and did not make the slightest mistake, settling on the ideal tyre pressure to use. Despres and Horn are also delighted with the amount of data they have been able to collect with a view to developing a hydrogen-powered vehicle, which bodes well for the future!



10:11 Better times for Seaidan and Serradori

After three difficult stages full of pitfalls and bad luck, Yasir Seaidan and Mathieu Serradori finally saw their prospects take an upturn on completion of the first half of the marathon stage. The two Century drivers even managed to finish in the top 10! During the special, the French crew even stopped next to Brian Baragawanath, also a Century driver (and engineer).




10:00 Safety first for Al-Attiyah

Nasser Al-Attiyah lost two minutes to Stéphane Peterhansel on Sunday, but the Qatari, following a flat tyre, erred on the side of caution. His aim was to avoid damaging anything in order to tackle the second part of the marathon stage in good conditions. The Toyota driver trails the Frenchman by eight minutes in the general standings, but as he said last night: “It’s a close race with Stéphane, but there is still a long way to go”.




09:50 Al-Rajhi at the start

Yazeed Al-Rjahi is on his way! The Saudi driver is the first to get to grips with the second part of the marathon stage in the car category, as he opens the way in front of Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz. In the wake of Peterhansel in the general standings, Nasser Al-Attiyah starts fourth this morning.
07:10 Off to Neom!






- ASO  photo Toyota motorsport.co.za