Dakar 2024 – Historic stage victory for Stéphane Peterhansel, who equals Ari Vatanen

Dakar Rally 2024 – Ranking Stage 2:

Provisional general classification to come

• The second stage of the Dakar 2024 between Al Henakiyah and Al Duwadimi put things back in order in the match for final victory, this Sunday January 7. The big guns returned to their hoped-for position, that is to say at the forefront, on a smooth and less rough special than the day before.
• The match for victory was limited between Sébastien Loeb-Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) and Stéphane Peterhansel-Édouard Boulanger (Audi). The two French legends performed a magnificent mano a mano over the entire 463 km. From km 167 until the end, the gap never exceeded a minute and a half!
• On the line, it was finally Stéphane Peterhansel who won by a breath: 29 seconds! This is the 50th stage victory for “Monsieur Dakar” in the event. He joins four-time winner Ari Vatanen at the top of the most successful drivers in the Car category.
• Winners on Saturday, Guillaume de Mévius and Xavier Panseri (Toyota) are back in line. The Belgian driver concedes more than 24 minutes and loses the lead of the race, to the benefit of Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Audi). The Spaniards were not very spirited (+16 minutes lost) but to their credit, they had to open the special, and therefore drive on a surface free of any trace of a car in front of them.
• The gaps are narrowed overall. Sainz is now only 1'51" ahead of Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota, 2nd), and 4'17" ahead of Sébastien Loeb (4th). Stéphane Peterhansel closes to 13′, and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Prodrive), who had a good day, is only 12′ behind the Spanish leader.

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