Loeb made a low-key start to Sunday’s 483km test between Riyadh and Al-Duwadimi, but the nine-time World Rally champion was gradually able to make his way to the front, taking his third stage victory of the year with a margin of 7m06s over Toyota’s Lucas Moraes.
Sainz finished fourth behind Nasser Al-Attiyah on what was a relatively tough day for Audi, with Ekstrom stopping twice due to mechanical problems and Stephane Peterhansel having to sacrifice his own chances to come to the aid of the Swede.
It was Toyota newcomer Seth Quintero who set the early pace as the Dakar Rally resumed near the Saudi capital after a day’s rest, with the promising American leading Overdrive’s Guerlain Chicherit and team-mate Moraes in a Hilux 1-2-3.
Loeb was relatively slow off the line and lost over three minutes in the opening 39km alone, but he was showing signs of a comeback as the field neared the halfway mark en route to Al-Duwadimi.
Surging to third place by the fifth checkpoint on 213km, when Moraes had snatched the lead of the rally, Loeb first picked off Quintero before surging past the Brazilian at the next checkpoint.
There was a brief threat from Century’s Mathieu Serradori in the next part of the stage after the Frenchman quickly jumped the Toyota duo, but Loeb was able to quickly build a buffer for himself en route to his second consecutive stage victory of 2024, and third overall.
Moraes was able to retake second position in his factory Hilux to salvage a solid result for Toyota after both Serradori and Quintero dropped off the front as the stage neared its end.
One of the big beneficiaries of their fall was reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, who also jumped Sainz just before the finish line to take a solid third in his Prodrive Hunter.
Source: Autosport