Al Attiyah regains the advantage

Departing from Turkmenbashi this morning, Sainz already knows that he is not going to win this 345 km special, because he is starting in the lead. “The one who opens the trail makes the trail for the others,” explains the Madrilenian. Indeed, Al Attiyah quickly caught up with his colleague, and despite a puncture, he took two minutes back at the finish. Miller and De Villiers, who have a lower pace, already seem to secure their third and fourth places.

Quite smooth, without major navigation problems, this special stage in the Karakum desert is completed without difficulty by amateurs. The fifth fastest time, behind the VWs, went to a Lithuanian driver, Vanagas. He drives an Oscar prototype with a Chevrolet V8 engine, a car that appeared in rally-raid in 2003 and built in Latvia.

After spending a sleepless night in his broken down buggy towed to the bivouac, the Basque Errandonea left this morning with a knife between his teeth: as a result, he achieved a superb sixth time. As for Christian Lavieille, fifth at the CP halfway through, he then lost a quarter of an hour after encountering a "vapor-look" problem in the dunes.

Finally, the program for the last two days was considerably modified, “for political reasons”, according to the official press release. Tomorrow, Saturday 12, the stage will bring the competitors back to Turkmenbashi, after a 370 km special. Then on Sunday, the sporting part will only include 15 timed km. An official ceremony with local presidents? are we even talking about the presence of Russian President Medvedev? should take place at the start of the special stage. Then, the competitors will reach the final finish, scheduled in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.