To quit or not to quit? Yet airlifted to Riyadh hospital on Tuesday after a violent accident during the 9th stage of the Dakar, Carlos Sainz decided, in midair, to turn around and resume the race. Despite chest pains, the 60-year-old Spanish driver reunited with his co-driver Lucas Cruz at km 6 of the day’s special, where their RS Q e-tron E2 rolled over. Team 207 awaits the arrival of an assistance vehicle to give themselves a chance to reach the Haradh bivouac at the end of the 358 km of special.
The triple winner of the event (2010, 2018, 2020) has nothing to play for in this 45th edition since the 6th stage. In the same place as his teammate Stéphane Peterhansel, who had abandoned him, the Spaniard had lost all hope of a fourth title, losing more than 25 hours in total in the general classification. At the start of this 9th stage, he was in 44th place, 29:16:59 behind leader Nasser al-Attiyah (Toyota).