Loeb in the heatwave of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: “It was very hard today”

Ranked second in the second stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2022 this Monday March 7, Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) experienced a stage without mechanical difficulty, unlike the first stage where the BRX Hunter 4×4 suffered transmission damage.

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The Alsatian only lost one point on Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu baumel (Toyota) dans le cadre du Championnat du monde de rally-raid (W2RC), winners of this special. “It was very hard today, it was a very complicated stage with a lot of soft sand and dunes difficult to negotiate at low speed, explained the nine-time world rally champion (WRC).

It was 🥵 39 degC at the #ADDC today. After finishing 2nd @SebastienLoeb said: "It was really tough today. It was a very difficult stage with really soft sand and tricky dunes making it very slow. The car was good and fast in the very hot temperatures."# W2RC #ADDC2022 pic.twitter.com/ViH3dBTRSQ

- Bahrain Raid Xtreme (@BRaidXtreme) March 7, 2022

However, the car was very capable and fast. We scored four points in W2RC and that's all that matters. »

The team principal of the English team, Gus Beteli, highlights the fine work of his mechanics, capable of repair the red 4×4 in record time. “The team did a great job following the problems of the first day. It was 39 degrees today, we have never driven in such high temperatures and Loeb's car did very well.

Nasser's stage victory now allows him to have a two-point lead in the championship. However, our objective is to move up in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge rankings in order to gain more points at the end of the event. »

Indeed, the top 5 of each stage collects points (5 for the best time, 4th for the second, so on), but more numerous units are reserved for the final general classification of the race.