YANBU: Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah moved to the brink of a record sixth Dakar Rally title after winning the penultimate 12th stage on Friday, extending his overall lead to 15 minutes with just 105 kilometres remaining in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Driving for Dacia, the 55-year-old claimed the 50th stage victory of his Dakar career, equalling the all-time record in the car category jointly held by Finnish rally legend Ari Vatanen and France’s 14-time Dakar champion Stephane Peterhansel.
The rally concludes on Saturday near the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
Al-Attiyah completed the demanding 409-kilometre stage across rocks and sand to tighten his grip on the overall lead. “To win this stage and to have a good lead now is really amazing,” he said. “You can lose everything today, but we did a good job. One day to go, and we need to be smart and really focused.”
Ford’s Nani Roma remained his closest challenger, but the Spaniard’s challenge suffered a major setback after he broke his car’s front axle and lost a wheel, causing his overnight deficit of eight minutes to increase significantly. French team-mate Romain Dumas assisted Roma at the stage finish, supplying spare parts that allowed him to reach the bivouac on time without incurring a penalty.
Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom stood third overall, 23 minutes and 21 seconds behind Al-Attiyah, followed closely by Dacia’s nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in fourth place, ahead of Ford’s Carlos Sainz.
In the motorcycle category, American rider Ricky Brabec of Honda returned to the top of the overall standings after a tactical decision earlier in the week to drop back and secure a more favourable starting position.
On the stage itself, American Mitch Guthrie finished second for Ford, while Australian Toby Price placed third in a Toyota.
