Al Attiyah still at ease in the dunes

Due to morning fog, the start of the ninth special was delayed and its mileage shortened. But the remaining 170 km, out of the initial 338, were not the easiest. Dunes, camel grass, small sandy tracks: a cocktail that Nasser Al Attiyah particularly appreciated. The Qatari, who has unrivaled ease in the dunes, was ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz of six minutes. In the general classification, the gap between the two men is only 8?36???

« It?s entirely my fault, I made a little mistake », admitted Peterhansel, only sixth in the special. “ We were driving through camel grass, and the front of the car stuck in a hollow. It took us twenty minutes, with the jacks and the plates, to get out. » As for his teammate Chicherit, he had a good special, setting the fourth fastest time.

The big losers of the day were the Brazilian Spinelli, who got in the sand and then had problems with his clutch, losing an hour. As for the Pole Holowczyc, who until then occupied a superb sixth place with his Nissan from the Overdrive team, he experienced big problems, allowing Sousa and De Villiers to climb one place in the hierarchy of the ??top ten??.