Surprising Dakar stage tightens the fight at the front

The competitors faced a punishing 483-kilometre route across the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The big surprise was how small the time gaps were, as never before in this year’s Dakar. The top six drivers were separated by just one and a half minutes.

The stage winner was also an unexpected name. Dakar front-runner Henk Lategan initially believed he had secured the stage win, but his team-mate Saood Variawa snatched victory by just three seconds.

Swede Mattias Ekström set the third-fastest time (+0:29), ahead of American Seth Quintero (+0:37) and overall rally leader Nasser Al-Attiyah (+1:16). Carlos Sainz (+1:29) completed the top six.

Driving for Dacia, Al-Attiyah retained his overall lead, but Mattias Ekström, who opened the stage, managed to cut the Qatari’s advantage down to exactly four minutes.

“It was very windy and difficult with the visibility. We had a challenging day at the front. In some places there were a lot of trees, and we arrived at high speed and damaged the car a little bit,” said Ekström, who competes for Ford.

“We had no punctures or navigation issues. It felt good, and for me it was a really enjoyable stage,” he added.

Lategan, who lost time on Sunday due to technical problems, sits third overall, six minutes off the lead. Behind him are Ford drivers Nani Roma and Carlos Sainz.

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb showed strong pace in the opening part of the stage, but faded towards the end. The French Dacia driver ultimately finished three minutes down on the stage winner. Loeb remains sixth overall, more than 17 minutes behind the leader.

The Dakar Rally continues on Tuesday with a 410-kilometre stage. The event concludes on Saturday.

Dakar Rally standings after stage 8/13: