Dakar veteran loses historic stage win

The five-time Dakar winner from Qatar had faced significant issues on the previous stage, costing him over half an hour. However, Al-Attiyah didn’t give up and proved his resilience during Thursday’s stage.

Crossing the finish line nearly ten minutes ahead of Seth Quintero, Al-Attiyah initially celebrated what would have been Dacia’s first-ever stage win in Dakar history.

“It was a good day, even if we had a puncture. We lost lots of time yesterday, but it’s good to be back in the game,” Al-Attiyah said.

However, his victory was short-lived, as he was later handed a ten-minute penalty. This moved Quintero into first place by just one second – the narrowest possible margin – denying Al-Attiyah the historic win.

This result extended Toyota’s unbeaten streak in this year’s Dakar Rally, with the Japanese manufacturer winning every stage so far.

Toyota driver Henk Lategan continues to lead the overall standings after finishing third in Thursday’s 428-kilometre stage.

“We had to open the special for the second half when we overtook Yazeed (Al-Rajhi). We did a good job,” Lategan said.

“I’m happy with the whole week, even if starting first the day after tomorrow wasn’t part of the plan,” the South African added.

Al-Rajhi remains second in the overall standings, trailing Lategan by just over ten minutes. M-Sport Ford’s Mattias Ekström holds third place, ahead of Al-Attiyah, who moved up to fourth despite his time penalty. The Qatari is now 35 minutes behind the leader.

The first week of the Dakar Rally is complete, and competitors will enjoy a well-deserved rest day on Friday. The second week begins on Saturday with a gruelling 605-kilometre stage.

“Next week, there will be many dunes, so we will see what will happen but for the moment I would just like to enjoy a good shower,” Al-Attiyah said.

Dakar Rally standings after stage 5/12: