After two consecutive stage wins by Sébastien Loeb (6 and 7), in which the Frenchman became the shadow of Carlos Sainz, from 9th to 2nd, from being 32 minutes behind to just 19, The Spanish driver was once again able to distance himself from his Prodrive rival in the eighth stage of the Dakar rally.
El Matador gained almost 6 minutes on his main opponent in the fight for the Tuareg, so the Spaniard once again has a 25-minute margin in the general standings. A respite for the four remaining stages until the final finish line of Yanbu.
The eighth stage (Al Duwadimi-Hail, 458 km timed), which was won by Mattias Ekström with the Audi, after overcoming the suspension problems that left him on the verge of abandoning, was favorable for Sainz: Loeb had to open track and Sainz could catch him, with the advantage of starting behind.
However, the Frenchman put his Hunter to the test and despite having to find the route he began to distance himself from Sainz. At kilometer point 51 he was 7 seconds ahead of him; At the control of km 111 he increased the rent to 2m37s; at km 165 it was already 3m02s; and at point 366 he had the lead at 3m13s. Sainz was provisional fourth for the day, and he saw how the Frenchman, at that pace, could finish the day hot on his heels in the general standings: he was virtually a quarter of an hour behind.
But in the last section of the stage, the last 70 km, Loeb lost steam and lost 9 minutes to the Madrid native. The Frenchman, who had recovered from a puncture in the first stage of the race, was lost due to a navigation error. So Sainz finished the stage 4th and Loeb 10th, 5m47s behind the Madrid native. Almost 6 minutes with which the Audi driver now distances himself in the general standings at 24m47s, with four days remaining.
In the 9th (Hail-Alula, 419 km through dunes and rocky plateaus), Sainz will have to start ahead, pending navigation, and with the disadvantage that Loeb, 10th, will be able to catch up with him and cut time.
The Dakar 2024 has been catastrophic for its current champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Hunter, Prodrive), who suffered an engine failure in his Hunter at kilometer 62 of the special and was stopped. The Qatari, who already suffered a breakdown on Saturday in the 6th stage, the 48-hour time trial, had to abandon, although he could rejoin the race outside of qualifying to help his teammate Loeb.
On motorcycles the fight for the Tuareg becomes even more compressed. Kevin Benavides (KTM), the current champion, took the stage victory, his second this year, and sees his chances of competing in the rally growing. The Argentine shaved 4 minutes off the American Ricky Brabec (Honda) and is close to 20 minutes in the lead, which Honda maintains, now with 42 seconds over Ross Branch (Hero).
Kevin Benavides won with just 31 seconds over his brother Luciano (Husqvarna) and 1m27s over Frenchman Adrien van Beveren (Honda).
Brabec led the first 350 kilometers of the day, but the timed special was reduced from 460 to 279 kilometers for "safety reasons." The American finished seventh, 4m08s behind the champion.
In the general classification, Brabec maintains the lead for the third day with 42 seconds over Branch, but with the threat closer to Nacho Cornejo (4m21s away). Van Beveren is fifth at 12 minutes, and Kevin Benavides, further away, at 20m31s.
