Nine-time World Rally champion Loeb led throughout the 417km test between Ha’il and Al-’Ula on Tuesday to take his fourth stage victory of 2024, beating the Audi of Sainz by 4m14s.
The Frenchman’s lead fluctuated throughout the day as the crews navigated a wide variety of terrains, with Sainz closing within 2m35 of the top spot after 348km of racing.
However, the Prodrive ace was able to pull away from Sainz in the final parts of the stage to win with a slightly bigger margin and remain in the hunt for his maiden Dakar win.
Mathieu Serradori put in a solid effort in his two-wheel drive Century to achieve his best result of 2024 in third, ending up only 29s off Sainz’s Audi.
Finishing another five minutes off was Guillaume de Mevius in the best of the Overdrive Toyotas, followed closely by factory Toyota driver Guy Botterill and team-mate Denis Krotov.
Audi duo Stephane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekstrom took a supporting role in Tuesday’s special, with Ekstrom opening the road for Sainz and Peterhansel following him closely in case he needed any assistance.
That meant both drivers finished 10 minutes off the lead, with Peterhansel ending up seventh and Ekstrom somewhere behind in ninth place.
Source: Autosport