Dakar – Stage 3: Sainz creates history for Audi, Loeb loses big

The third stage of the Dakar 2022, contested this Tuesday January 4, was cut by around a hundred kilometers. And yet, it only took 214 km around Al Qaisumah (Saudi Arabia) to create a new event in the Auto race thanks to Carlos Sainz and his navigator Lucas Cruz.

Motivated by his 15th stage victory the day before, Sébastien Loeb (BRX) had the difficult task of opening the way this morning. The Alsatian, sailed by Fabian Lurquin, experienced what he feared so much: a day of hardship. In the plural, because the BRX Thunder, despite its T1+ configuration and its 37-inch tires, punctured twice.

Worse still, the end of the special went badly due to a transmission problem, which placed the 4×4 in two-wheel drive mode! Obviously, in the dune cords, this drives less well. These are the main challengers of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) who spend 28'24'' on the leaders overall!

Unhappy on Sunday due to difficult navigation, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Audi) are smiling again. “El Matador” signs his 40th stage victory on the rally-raid, but above all it is the first scratch time of a hybrid car on the Dakar! Its Audi RS Q e-tron is in fact equipped with three electric motors of Formula E and a TFSI block from the DTM.

The Madrilenian emerged victorious from a duel with young Henk Lategan (Toyota). The South African, amazing for his discovery of the morning road book in 2021, led the way until km 218. A first stage victory will not be long in coming for the 27-year-old pilot, navigated by Brett Cummings.

A sign that the electrified Audi is regaining momentum, Stéphane Peterhansel-Édouard Boulanger achieves the third fastest time. Less experienced, Mattias Ekström-Emil Bergkvist climbed to fifth place, behind Nani Roma-Alex Haro (BRX) and continued their express learning of the T1 class.

Ranking of the special:

General classification :

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