Dakar 2023, Stage 12 – The crazy comeback of Sébastien Loeb, second in the race

Le Dakar Rally 2023 sees a second week dominated by Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme). The Franco-Belgian crew has been extinguishing all competition for almost a week, and drives home the point by signing a fifth consecutive stage victory in this 45th edition, this Friday January 13!

This special, with a length of 185 km alternating between dry lakes and dunes of the formidable Empty Quarter desert, allowed the world vice-champions to rally-raid (W2RC) 2022 de réaliser une très belle opération au classement général. L’Alsacien subtilise la deuxième place au rookie brésilien Lucas Moraes (Toyota), qui s’est arrêté en fin de parcours.

Loeb-Lurquin equal the record for consecutive stage victories on a Dakar held since 1989 by Ari Vatanen and Bruno Berglund aboard their Peugeot 405 T16. On Saturday, the BRX Hunter T1+ couple will try to become the first crew to bring this record to 7. Finally, they surpass the 21 stage successes on the Dakar signed by Pierre Lartigue.

Sébastien Loeb, however, remains far too far from the leaders of the Dakar, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota), to be able to worry them between now and the final finish scheduled for Sunday January 15 in Dammam. The gap remains 1h27' in favor of the Toyota Hilux T1+

Lucas Moraes, associated with Timo Gottschalk, therefore falls to third place on the podium but should remain in this rank until the final finish. Indeed, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (Toyota) once again encountered mechanical problems and lost more than 40 minutes and their last hopes of a podium.

The misfortunes of the South African crew affected their Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates, Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy, who finished just off the podium. Starting this morning in seventh place, Romain Dumas and Max Delfino (Toyota) stopped twice and lost points. Their position should change by the end of the stage but the top 10 is still achievable.

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Dakar 2023 ranking – Stage 12:

General classification :