Driving for Dacia, Al-Attiyah set the fastest time on the penultimate stage of the desert rally, which measured 311 kilometres. He beat second-placed Mitch Guthrie by just over a minute on the stage.
Chasing his sixth Dakar victory, Al-Attiyah has now taken a total of 50 stage wins in the legendary event. That lifts him into a three-way tie at the top of the all-time list alongside Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen, who also each have 50 stage victories to their names.
The Qatari has the chance to claim the record outright on Saturday’s final stage.
Al-Attiyah now has a firm grip on this year’s Dakar victory, leading the rally in Saudi Arabia by 15 minutes over Ford driver Nani Roma.
Third overall is Ford’s Swedish driver Mattias Ekström, who moved ahead of rally legend Sébastien Loeb by a margin of 30 seconds. Ekström and Loeb are both more than 23 minutes behind the leader.
Ford’s Carlos Sainz sits fifth overall ahead of the final stage, 36 minutes adrift of the lead.
The Dakar Rally concludes on Saturday, with just a 108-kilometre stage on the schedule.
Dakar Rally standings after stage 12/13:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Dacia | 48:01:51 |
| 2. | Nani Roma | Ford | +15:02 |
| 3. | Mattias Ekström | Ford | +23:21 |
| 4. | Sebastien Loeb | Dacia | +23:50 |
| 5. | Carlos Sainz | Ford | +36:33 |
| 6. | Mathieu Serradori | Century | +53:17 |
| 7. | Lucas Moraes | Dacia | +53:35 |
| 8. | Toby Price | Toyota | +58:24 |
