The rocky Al-’Ula to Yanbu 420km test, won by Guerlain Chicherit for Overdrive Toyota, appears to be the deciding stage for overall victory at this year’s Dakar with Sainz moving into a healthy 1h27m06s lead.
Loeb, who cut Sainz’s lead to under 14 minutes yesterday, was on the attack during the opening running but at 132km he suffered a broken front right A-arm on his Provide Hunter in a heavy landing following a jump and was stranded without initial mechanical support.
The nine-time World Rally champion was given assistance by Zi Yungang driving for YunXiang China in a fellow Hunter car and was able to resume having lost over an hour and a quarter.
Sainz, who had been battled for the stage lead at the time, duly played it slightly safer on the rocky terrain which allowed Chicherit to overhaul him and pull clear for his second consecutive stage win.
Chicherit took the stage triumph by 5m32s from Overdrive team-mate Guillaume de Mevius, who pipped Sainz by three seconds, but the Audi driver won’t be disheartened given his almost 90-minute overall advantage.
Source: Autosport