South African Safari – Stage 3: Al-Attiyah wins, Loeb new leader

It wasn't a good idea to start among the frontrunners on the third stage of the South African Safari. The 246km special offered a mix of tricky conditions, with 49% of the route being on savannah, 28% on black turf, the black soil used by local farmers, 11% on hard-packed tracks, and 9% on sandy tracks. 

In these conditions, the fastest in the second stage and first on the track this morning suffered: Guy Botterill (Toyota) and Saood Variawa (Toyota), the two South Africans racing on home soil, lost 10 and 15 minutes respectively. The day was, however, much more positive for the Dacias, especially that of Nasser Al-Attiyah, the stage winner. 

The Qatari had a good lead over his runner-up Carlos Sainz (Ford), but a penalty after the finish for speeding almost cost him the victory. Despite adding two minutes to his time, the five-time Dakar winner held onto first place by just five seconds. 

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Loeb, 4th in the stage, takes the lead in the general classification

His 44th victory in W2RC puts an end to the South African raid. The first three stages – including the prologue – had been won by locals: Woolridge (Neil Woolridge Motorsport), Lategan (Toyota) and Botterill (Toyota). Henk Lategan, revelation of the last Dakar (2nd), continues his rise in power and finds himself third overall (+0'30”), now dominated by Sébastien Loeb. 

The Alsatian took the lead thanks to his 4th place on the day's special, which puts him ahead of Carlos Sainz (+0'23”). The nine-time world champion WRC still had a bit of a scare at the start of the special stage when he stopped briefly for a mechanical problem, which ultimately didn't cost him too much. 

Initially leading at the end of the stage, Lucas Moraes (Toyota) received a one-minute penalty for speeding and dropped back to fourth place. Nasser Al-Attiyah, despite his victory, is much further back. The Qatari, who was penalized 4 minutes on Wednesday, is 15th, 12 minutes and 12 seconds behind his teammate Sébastien Loeb. 

On Friday, the fourth and penultimate stage will be a 224 km loop around Sun City.

W2RC – South African Safari 

Stage 3 ranking

The general classification after stage 3