Sainz plants a banderilla!

Already, during this same stage covered in reverse last year, Carlos Sainz had shown himself to be brilliant. The special, almost entirely run on narrow and winding tracks, suited his rallying style perfectly. Second in the starting order this morning, he quickly caught up with his teammate? and main opponent in the general? Nasser Al Attiyah. “I came back about twenty seconds from his dust. And after that it was over, it was impossible to create a bigger gap,” declared ??El Matador??.

“We were expecting to eat? a little more,” said Stéphane Peterhansel. “On these slippery and winding tracks, you couldn't put too much gas. We didn?t want to take any risks, and we kept the same pace until the finish. » Peterhansel missed the stage victory by 28 minutes, but was in no way offended: “there was more to lose than to gain by riding fast today. »

Nothing has changed in the general classification, between the first five. After the confirmed retirement of the Pole Holowczyc (who tore his rear axle in a bloodletting on Monday afternoon), it is now Carlos Sousa who occupies sixth place, behind the three VWs and the two BMWs. Sousa took no risks today, leaving the Argentinian Terranova to be the fastest Mitsubishi Racing Lancer from the JMB Stradale Off Road team. “It was a great special and a great day,” said Pascal Maimon, the Argentine driver’s French teammate. “We overtook three cars, those of Novitskiy, Sousa and Misslin, which we caught each time before the hairpins, and which let us pass without problem”.