Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb won the Dakar Rally’s 8th stage on Sunday after Audi’s Carlos Sainz, who posted the fastest time, was handed a five-minute time penalty for speeding.
It was enough to vault Loeb, in a Bahrain Raid Xtreme, into fourth place overall in the standings, displacing South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers in a Toyota Hilux. However, reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) retained his overall lead by a comfortable margin after finishing the stage in second, just over two minutes adrift of Loeb.
Going into Monday’s rest day, Al-Attiyah leads team mate Henk Lategan by one hour and three minutes.
Sainz had looked in control in the 367km special between Al Duwadimi and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, taking a provisional 1m 39s victory over Loeb before being handed a penalty.
Sainz was demoted to third in a result that continued a dismal few days for Audi after teammate Stephane Peterhansel’s withdrawal from the rally after an injury to his co-driver Edouard Boulanger on stage 6.
Ross Branch (Hero Motorsports) won the motorcycle class on Sunday from Daniel Sanders (GasGas)
American Skyler Howes leads the motorcycle classification for Husqvarna, just 13 seconds ahead of Argentina’s Kevin Benavides (KTM).
Loeb wins Dakar stage 8, Al-Attiyah retains lead
Carlos Sainz sets fastest time but drops to third with speeding penalty
Image: Reuters
Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb won the Dakar Rally’s 8th stage on Sunday after Audi’s Carlos Sainz, who posted the fastest time, was handed a five-minute time penalty for speeding.
It was enough to vault Loeb, in a Bahrain Raid Xtreme, into fourth place overall in the standings, displacing South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers in a Toyota Hilux. However, reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) retained his overall lead by a comfortable margin after finishing the stage in second, just over two minutes adrift of Loeb.
Going into Monday’s rest day, Al-Attiyah leads team mate Henk Lategan by one hour and three minutes.
Sainz had looked in control in the 367km special between Al Duwadimi and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, taking a provisional 1m 39s victory over Loeb before being handed a penalty.
Sainz was demoted to third in a result that continued a dismal few days for Audi after teammate Stephane Peterhansel’s withdrawal from the rally after an injury to his co-driver Edouard Boulanger on stage 6.
Ross Branch (Hero Motorsports) won the motorcycle class on Sunday from Daniel Sanders (GasGas)
American Skyler Howes leads the motorcycle classification for Husqvarna, just 13 seconds ahead of Argentina’s Kevin Benavides (KTM).
Peterhansel crashes out of Dakar as Toyota's Al-Attiyah streaks ahead
Al-Attiyah retains Dakar lead and apologises for earlier outburst
WATCH | Extreme weather creates Dakar Rally chaos
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