Marko Hanželic
The longest stage of this year’s endurance rally Dakar Rally among motorists it did not bring major shifts at the very top. It was won by the rally leader, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, which increased the lead over the first pursuer by 25 seconds Sebastien Loeb (BRX). It was already the forty-fourth victory for the fifty-one-year-old driver Toyota, which also boasts a bronze medal in trap from London 2012
Wednesday was due on the way from Al-Qaisumah do Riyadh drive 707 kilometers. With 465 kilometers, this year was the longest measured section on the program. The stage was fast, there were also some dunes along the way. At the end of the stage, the terrain became more rocky.
Again, the starting position played an important role, but those who started first had less problems with it navigation like days gone by. Regardless of the marathon stage length, we finally experienced a real photo finish, as the differences were extremely small. It took the form of resin again Stephane peterhansel, which stopped at the 89th kilometer with a broken shock absorber, and at the same time the cooling system was damaged during the jump.
He also had a lot of problems Nani Rome (BRX), which overturned and then had another "Rubber defect", so he broke off the stage and drove to the bivouac. In the end, he won third place Carlos Sainz, after being otherwise a leader Al-Rajhi got a time surcharge for speeding in the neutral zone.
Among motorcyclists, double victories were celebrated at Honda, as he was the fastest Joan Barreda, followed by him Paul Quintanilla. A newcomer to the Dakar proved his lavish racing talent with third place. Danilo Petrucci. In the overall standings, Sam Sunderland (GasGas) leads Walkner (KTM) and van Beveren (Yamaha).
