Riyadh, January 8 (BNA): Sebastien Loeb claimed a dramatic victory on the Bahrain Raid Extreme stage in the Dakar Rally today after another classic battle with Carlos Sainz and overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah in Saudi Arabia.
Loeb and Fabien Lorquin in the BRX Prodrive Hunter won the eighth stage for a distance of 346 km from Dawadmi to Riyadh, by two minutes and 11 seconds from Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, to climb to fourth place in the overall standings.
Sainz and Lucas Cruz led the stage for much of the day, but lost two positions when they were given a five-minute penalty after finishing in their Audi for speeding in a restricted area.
The result saw nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb continue his rise in the classification after a series of previous setbacks, while Al-Attiyah extended his immediate advantage to 1 hour, 3 minutes and 46 seconds over his Toyota teammate, South African Henk Lategan.
For the fourth day in a row, three Prodrive hunters rounded out the top ten, with Guerlain Chicheret and Alex Winock posting the sixth-best time, while Vydotas Zala-Paulo Fiuza finished tenth.
Loeb’s second stage win, and the third for a BRX after Chichret’s win last Tuesday, gave the Frenchman another World Rally Championship points lead, as Prodrive Hunter’s power shone once again.
Starting from rocky gorges, the stage blasted through the dunes and down to the refueling station, with the rest of the way put to a solid test of navigation along fast trails and long canyon sections.
It became the scene of another poignant Dakar battle between the world’s best drivers, with Loeb setting the early pace before Sainz grabbed the lead and Al-Attiyah chasing to keep the outcome uncertain until the end.
With tomorrow being a rest day, the crew will enjoy some well-deserved relaxation ahead of the return of the Dakar competition with Tuesday’s 358km ninth stage.
However, it will not be much comfort for the rest of the 67-strong BRX team in Saudi Arabia. They’ll work around the clock to prepare three ProDrive Hunters, each powered by EcoPower fuel, pioneered by Cureton, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to gasoline.