Arrested for four hours, Sainz and De Villiers give up victory

Hopes of victory in the 2019 Dakar for Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Mini) took off at the 38th kilometer of the third stage, Wednesday January 9 between Marcona and Arequipa (Peru). The Spanish duo moved a few meters away from the correct heading and hit a hole not indicated on the road book.

This agujero breaks the suspension. We are ready to repair. Así es el Dakar! pic.twitter.com/o38PpT5SMQ

- Carlos Sainz (@CSainz_oficial) 9th January 2019

Left front suspension destroyed, the Mini JCW buggy was forced to wait for the assistance trucke. In the general classification, the outgoing winners are at 36th place, 4h15 behind leaders Al-Attiyah-Baumel. “For us, the rally is finished. I am disappointed and sorry, but it's like that. On the Dakar, it happens », philosopher the double world rally champion (WRC).

Another favorite, but much more discreet, Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) est tombé de haut une centaine de bornes plus loin. Le Sud-Africain a été victime d’un malheureux concours de circonstances. He also lost 4h20 in the affair, in the company of his navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz.

“We were unlucky, we were riding very well at that time. But I was unlucky, I was in the dust of a quad, I was driving in third gear and I had a big jump, I was on the track but I landed on a stone, explains the winner of the first Dakar in South America (in 2009).

It broke an engine mount, then damaged the cooling. To fix all that… it was a long story! It's really a shame, because if I had jumped faster even by 10 km/h, we would not have taken this stone, and more slowly it would not have done this damage ». 

For the king of regularity (in the top 5 of the Dakar since 2011 without interruption), the quest for a podium is over. He will now put himself at the service of his teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Bernhard ten Brinke, who are much better placed.