Dakar Rally
After the breakup with Nasser Al-Attiyah, Mathieu Baumel breaks the silence: “We have to think about the future”
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Rally-Raid
Dakar 2023, stage 4 – Sébastien Loeb gets back on his feet, Nasser Al-Attiyah ensures
Sébastien Loeb was the fastest in this 4th stage of the Dakar 2023. © DPPI / Julien Delfosse
Le Dakar Rally 2023, for once, experienced a stage of quasi-transition, this Wednesday, January 4. Around Ha'il (Saudi Arabia), the favorites progressed at a similar pace, along a 425 km stage.
Having left the bivouac from 33rd position following their setbacks the day before (half an hour lost due to a broken left rear suspension and two punctures), Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) took their 4×4 Hunter T1+ with long strides through the Saudi desert.
ALSO READ > Is Sébastien Loeb tarnishing his legend at the Dakar?
First left behind by Stéphane Peterhansel and Édouard Boulanger (Audi), the Franco-Belgian crew, which no longer has any ambition regarding the general classification, pushed hard at the end of the stage to take the lead at km 327, until maintaining a small gap of 13 seconds at the finish. This is the first stage victory for the world vice-champions of rally-raid (W2RC) on this Dakar 2023.
En tête de ce Dakar 2023, Nasser Al-Attiyah et Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) ont enfin vécu une journée calme. Les tenants du titre signent le quatrième chrono et augmentent sensiblement leur marge sur Yazeed Al-Rajhi et Dirk von Zitzewitz (Toyota, +18’18 »).
The cleaning continues to be done in this first week of competition. Coming with an air of freshness thanks to their new turbocharged engine, the Century two-wheel drive buggies played the leading roles at the start of the week. The two representatives of the Century Factory Team, the South African Brian Baragwanath and the Frenchman Mathieu Serradori, were respectively in 5th and 6th place in the general classification before this stage.
Unfortunately, the mechanics gave way for both men. Brian Baragwanath-Leonard Cremer (Century) slipped around km 177 and conceded exactly 1 hour. As for Mathieu Serradori-Loïc Minaudier, they were delayed from the start of the special, before trying to catch up. They already lost 1h54 at km 282.
Much less dangerous in the general classification, but also more offensive, Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq (GCK) stood out… by putting their 4×4 on its side in a low-speed section. The French, winners of the previous stage, lost 1h36 in this affair while their pace promised them a top 3.
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Dakar 2023 – Stage 4 classification:
General classification :
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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