DOHA (Qatar): Stephane Peterhansel won the penultimate stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally on Thursday , but his X-raid Mini stablemate Carlos Sainz Sr retained a healthy lead ahead of the marathon’s finale.
Sainz had to open the road in the 235-mile timed special within the stage, taking the competition back to Haradh from Shubaytah, according to Autosport website.
He consequently gave up nearly five minutes to Peterhansel in the first 62 miles as he navigated the dunes of the Rub’ Al Khali, but would limit the damage over the rest of the special, ending up eight minutes slower than the stage winner at the finish.
This will still allow Sainz to have 10 minutes in hand for the final 232-mile Haradh – Qiddiya test on Sunday.
“(It was a) Hard day with a lot of dunes and cliffs. We still managed to find the way! Now really focused on tomorrow. Ten minute’s advantage on the Dakar going into the last stage can be a lot or nothing. Let’s stay focused and give it all tomorrow,!” said two-time winner Sainz.
Al Attiyah will enter marathon finale as Sainz’s nearest rival
Peterhansel looked set to overtake three-time winner Toyota driver Nasser al Attiyah for second place for much of the stage, but a late charge from the reigning champion saw him come up just 10 seconds short of a stage win.
With this performance, Attiyah will enter the marathon finale as Sainz’s nearest rival and with a six-second gap to Peterhansel, who will be running ahead on the road.
Local driver Yazeed al Rajhi is poised to finish a career-best fourth in his Toyota after a seemingly straightforward stage, whereas his long-time fifth-place counterpart Orlando Terranova has dropped down the order.
Mini driver Terranova was over half an hour off the pace, and has been overtaken by the two Toyotas of Giniel de Villiers and Bernhard ten Brinke in the general classification. He is now on course to finish seventh ahead of Century buggy driver Mathieu Serradori.
Final stage shorter
The final stage of the Dakar Rally on Friday will be shortened due to the construction of gas pipelines in the planned route.
The stage, which was originally scheduled to be a 232.3 miles test to wrap up the event, will now be reduced to 103.1 miles.
Works for new gas pipelines are being carried out by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company in the vicinity of Haradh, renowned for its oil and gas-rich fields.
The route for the 12th timed stage was planned to cross the area.
Competitors will instead complete an 80.7-mile link from the bivouac to the start of the timed stage, before heading to Qiddiya.
