The duel between the two best WRC drivers in history, Carlos Sainz (60) and Sébastien Loeb (48), is already served in the Dakar 2023. The Matador gave his first thrust in the rally that takes place in Saudi Arabia with the stage one win by just 23 seconds over the nine-time world champion Frenchman. The Spaniard and his Catalan co-driver Lucas Cruz lead with 10 seconds over Loeb.
Carlos Sainz prevailed in a very tight stage finale, resolved practically to the sprint. In the last 90 km, the man from Madrid, who was provisionally fourth, overtook his teammate Matthias Ekström and the Frenchman Chichérit, and cut the 57 seconds behind Loeb and still led him by 23; that is to say, he put 1m20s in that final stretch.
This is the 42nd victory for Carlos Sainz on the Dakar, with which he equals Nasser Al-Attiyah as the third driver with the most stage wins in the history of the competition.
