Desafío Ruta 40 – Stage 4: Sainz revives Ford, total suspense before the finish

The fourth stage of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF completely reshuffled the cards in the Auto category. Between San Rafael and San Juan, over 306 timed kilometers, Carlos Sainz Ford Racing received a victory that was as symbolic as it was important. "El Matador" emerged victorious after a day full of twists and turns, securing his first win with the American manufacturer and giving Ford its first-ever victory in the Argentinian race.

Sainz has long had to contend with competition from Joao Ferreira and Eryk Goczal. The Portuguese player Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa had put in a top-notch performance, but a penalty for exceeding the time limit in a neutral zone ultimately dropped them down the standings. Sainz thus took the victory ahead of Goczal, who also had a solid stage.

The victory will be decided in the final sprint

But the fight for the day's victory was only part of the story. Behind the fastest times, the overall favorites were engaged in a decisive strategic battle. Nasser Al-Attiyah made the biggest move of the day. The Dacia driver, third overall at the start of the stage, climbed to second place and is now only seven seconds behind the new leader, Seth Quintero. The American Toyota driver regained the lead after having spent much of the stage in the slipstream of his teammate, Henk Lategan.

The South African has now dropped to third place, 1'53" behind, but remains fully in contention for the overall victory. Sébastien Loeb He also continues his climb up the standings. Fifth at the start of the stage, more than eight minutes behind, the Frenchman is now just off the provisional podium, only 5 minutes and 24 seconds behind the leader. Heading into the final 320-kilometer special stage, four drivers are separated by just a few minutes. The suspense remains high before the finish in San Juan.

Stage 4 Car Classification

General Auto after Stage 4

Motorcycles: Schareina breaks KTM's hegemony

After three stages dominated by KTM, Tosha Schareina finally brought down the Austrian armada. The Monster Energy Honda HRC rider finished ahead of Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes to secure a Honda 1-2-3 finish. Despite a navigation error early in the day, Daniel Sanders still maintains a solid 7'16" lead in the overall standings heading into the final stage.

General Moto after Stage 3

Stock / Challenger: Peterhansel and Klaassen on the attack

In the Stock category, Stéphane Peterhansel continued his flawless run by winning another stage and consolidating his lead. In the Challenger class, Puck Klaassen completely reignited the race by taking the win and closing the gap to just 12 seconds behind Alexandre Pinto before the final sprint.

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