Dakar - Stage 11: Sainz as boss, Loeb gains a few minutes

Carlos Sainz offers a 4th stage victory to Audi in this 2022 Dakar. Sébastien Loeb for his part takes a few minutes from Nasser Al-Attiyah and consolidates his 2nd place overall.

Published on 13/01/2022 à 12:26

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Dakar – Stage 11: Sainz as boss, Loeb gains a few minutes

Carlos Sainz signs his 2nd success in 2022. ©DPPI/F. Gooden

In the Dakar, the man of the day is called Carlos Sainz. Very consistent at the end of the edition, the Matador dominated from start to finish this 11th special, 350 kilometers long. Driving an RS Q e-tron that has become more reliable in recent days, the three-time winner of the event imposed his law without ever being worried by the rest of the field to sign his second success of the fortnight.

Tied with Lucio Alvarez after the first Way-point, Carlos Sainz then set his own pace on the dunes of the Saudi desert. Alone in the lead after the 127th kilometer checkpoint, the Spaniard, always well guided by his co-driver Lucas Cruz, made no serious errors, thus not letting any time slip away from his rivals.

With an average lead of 2 minutes during the entire 11th special of this Dakar 2022, Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line in Bisha with 2'21 ahead of Sébastien Loeb who continues to steal time from leader Nasser Al-Attiyah. Runner-up to the Audi driver, the Alsatian showed solidity during the 350 kilometers of qualifying, showing once again that his Hunter T1+ continues to progress day after day.

Clinging to his 2nd place overall, Sébastien Loeb carried out a great operation since he took 4'21 from Nasser Al-Attiyah, 6th of the day. The nine-time world rally champion, however, remains far from his Qatari counterpart. The latter is in fact 28 ahead of the Frenchman who can only hope for a mechanical breakdown of his rival during the last stage this Friday to hope to glean his first Dakar.

2nd for a long time in this 11th special, Argentina's Lucio Alvarez finally finished on the last step of the podium, 3'10 behind Carlos Sainz. Freed from the numerous technical and mechanical problems encountered during the first days of racing, Audi is satisfied with another solid day since Mattias Ekström and Stéphane Peterhansel respectively ranked 4th and 5th, allowing the manufacturer to place its three cars in the Top 5 .