2024-01-08 07:29:06
Al-Dawadmi (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – French driver Stephane Peterhansel won his 50th victory in the car category during his busy career in the Dakar Desert Rally on Sunday, while Spanish cyclist Carles Falcon faces a “critical stage” following being involved in an accident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Published on: 01/08/2024 – 08:29 Last updated: 01/08/2024 – 08:27
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Falcon, who participated for the first time in Dakar in 2022, was close to completing the second stage when he was involved in a severe accident.
Race organizer Aso said: “After being notified by another cyclist who was following him, the organizers sent a medical helicopter to take care of the injured cyclist who was in a serious condition.”
Falcon, representing the TwinTrail Racing team, was in the 76th stage following the opening stage on Saturday.
Later, his team announced that he had suffered a fracture in his spine and was in “critical condition. He will undergo surgery at a hospital in Riyadh.”
Chilean Honda rider Ignacio Cornejo won the stage title, 5 minutes and 59 seconds behind Argentine Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), while Botswana’s Ross Branch maintained the overall lead, 2:55 minutes behind Cornejo.
In the car category, “Mr. Dakar” Peterhansel (Audi) excelled in the 463-km stage between Al-Hanakiyah and Al-Dawadmi.
Only his compatriot Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Red Extreme), nine-time World Rally Champion and Dakar runner-up in the last two years, managed to stay close to him by 29 seconds.
Young American Seth Quintero came third, 3 minutes and 11 seconds behind, while the defending champion for the last two years was Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who left the Toyota Gazoo team following winning the title three times to join Prodrive, with a difference of 6 minutes and 28 seconds.
“I stopped counting a long time ago,” said Peterhansel (58 years old), who won the Dakar title in the bike and car categories a record 14 times and currently ranks ninth in the overall standings.
In the overall standings, his Spanish Audi teammate Carlos Sainz leads by 1:51 minutes from Saudi Yazid Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), who finished fifth in Sunday’s stage, and 4:17 minutes behind Loeb.
Saints is participating in the Dakar Rally for the seventeenth time and won his title in 2010, 2018 and 2020.
Al-Attiyah became seventh following suffering a puncture in two tires on Saturday, in addition to suffering from a fracture in the rear suspension arm on Sunday.
The Qatari said, “We stopped for more than ten minutes to fix the problem. I think it is a weak point in this car, because Seb (Loeb) broke the same arm yesterday.”
He continued, “We will try to talk to the team to fix the problem. I have a lot of fun with the car. Despite all the problems we suffered from yesterday and today, we are still in the competition.”
Al-Attiyah, the Olympic shooting champion, is seeking to become only the third driver to win the Dakar title three years in a row, following Finn Ari Vatanen (1989, 1990 and 1991) and Frenchman Pierre Lartigue (1994, 1995 and 1996).
Al-Attiyah won the Dakar title for the first time in 2011 with Volkswagen, and repeated the same scenario in 2015 behind the wheel of a Mini before taking first place with Toyota in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
The third stage will be held on Monday between Dawadmi and Salmiya, at a distance of 438 km.
Overall ranking of the top five in the car category:
1- Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Audi) 8:49:38 hours
2- Saudi Yazid Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), with a difference of 1:51 minutes
3- Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Red Extreme), with a difference of 4:17 minutes
4- American Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo), with a difference of 7:36 minutes
5- Belgian Guillaume de Milvius (Overdrive), with a difference of 7:44 minutes
– Overall ranking of the top five in the motorcycle category:
1- Botswana Ross Branch (Hero Motorsport) 9:50:05 hours
2- Chilean Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Honda), 2 minutes and 55 seconds behind.
3- American Ricky Brabec (Honda), with a difference of 7:15 minutes
4- Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), with a difference of 15:20 minutes
5- Argentine Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), with a difference of 17:22 minutes
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