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Al-Attiyah and the demon of punctures: “Not easy to solve”
No, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are not the only Dakar 2021 competitors to suffer punctures. Apart from the BRX Hunter, another 4×4 has suffered two tire damages during the sixth stage reliant Al Qaisumah et Ha’il ce vendredi 8 janvier : le Toyota Hilux de Nasser Al-Attiyah et Mathieu Baumel.
The Qatari-French crew, author of three stage victories in a row during this first week, wanted to arrive at the rest day three minutes behind leaders Stéphane Peterhansel and Édouard Boulanger (Mini). It was a wasted effort, because they only regained a handful of seconds this Friday and remained behind at 5”53”.
A day of high speeds for @AlAttiyahN!# Dakar2021 pic.twitter.com/uaPQtPQXvw
- DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 8, 2021
“These punctures cost us three minutes, said Nasser Al-Attiyah at the bivouac. But I'm still happy to spend the rest day in this second place. We haven't had any big problems since the start last Sunday and we were involved in a great fight with Stéphane.
Last year we had huge problems with the tires. This time, when we try to attack a little more than normal, the tires cannot withstand the impacts, analyzes the three-time winner of the event (2011, 2015, 2019). This is a problematic case, not easy to resolve. »
True to his optimistic nature, the leader of Toyota Gazoo Racing is already looking ahead to the second week which begins on Sunday. " I will do my best. With Mathieu, we feel very strong and obviously our goal is to win the Dakar. The gap with Stéphane is small. »
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
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