Portugal – Stage 2: The Dacias of Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah in difficulty

The second stage of the Rally-Raid Portugal, held this Thursday, September 25 between Grândola and Badajoz (Spain), is particularly challenging for the Dacia Sandriders team. Their two best representatives, Sébastien Loeb-Édouard Boulanger as well as Nasser Al-Attiyah-Fabian Lurquin, were slowed down.

 

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The problems started early for the Loeb-Boulanger duo. At km 57, the Alsatian pulled over due to a mechanical problem with his right rear axle. Sébastien Loeb and his new co-driver waited for their teammates Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno to arrive to repair the defective part. In the process, they lost 14 minutes before getting going again.

Further along, at km 200, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin also stopped. The Qatari driver, leader of the W2RC world championship at the start of this penultimate round of the 2025 season, also had to undergo a mechanical session on the edge of the special stage. He lost 17 minutes in the process!

Dacias aren't the only 4x4s affected by this daunting stage. 2025 Dakar Rally winner and 2023-24 World Championship runner-up Yazeed Al-Rajhi has completely left the stage for an unknown reason! The Saudi was making his W2RC comeback after an injury sustained in the spring.

At the 221 km mark of a total of 429 km, the best time is held by locals Joao Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (Toyota SVR). Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, aboard their Ford Raptor T1+ Evo, are 2nd, 1'33'' behind. The winners of the first stage, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (Toyota TGR), lose 5 minutes (5th).

ALSO READ > VIDEOS – Immersion with the Dacia Sandriders: Wednesday, September 24