Sainz closing in on Dakar Rally victory with one stage to go
Last updated on: 16 January,2020 08:44 pm
Mini buggy driver Sainz finished third in Thursday's (January 16) 379km stage over desert dunes
(Web Desk) - Spaniard Carlos Sainz was one stage away from a third Dakar Rally triumph after ending the penultimate day in Saudi Arabia with a 10 minute lead over Qatar’s defending champion Nasser al Attiyah.
Mini buggy driver Sainz, whose son and namesake races in Formula One for McLaren, finished third in Thursday’s (January 16) 379km stage over desert dunes from Shubaytah to Haradh.
Sainz’s French team mate Stephane Peterhansel, a 13-times Dakar winner on two wheels and four, won the stage -- his fourth victory on this year’s event and career 80th.
He is now just six seconds behind Toyota’s Al Attiyah going into the final 374km to Qiddiya with the pair gaining eight minutes on Sainz, the first driver to start the 11th stage.
Two-times Formula One champion Fernando Alonso was 113th in the running order at the day’s start, after rolling his Toyota Hilux and losing an hour on Wednesday, and finished eighth fastest to end 13th overall.
In the motorcycle category, Honda’s American rider Ricky Brabec is poised to end KTM’s 18-year dominance of the endurance event.
Brabec was nearly 14 minutes clear of Chilean Pablo Quintanilla, the stage winner, on a Husqvarna with Australia’s defending champion Toby Price third for KTM but with 22 and a half minutes to make up on the lead.