The stay in Bisha, which lasted almost a week and included scrutineering, came to a close when the wind stopped blowing! The Dakar has resumed its nomadic nature, heading northwest towards Al Henakiyah. The riders, drivers, and crews dropped down by about 500 metres in altitude and especially had to tackle a beginning to the special that was very rocky, before picking up speed on sandy plateaus for approximately 200 kilometres. The heavy rainfall from the day before gave way to sunny intervals which made the terrain more conducive to racing. It was even ideal for Lorenzo Santolino, who scored his first stage success on the Dakar behind the handlebars of his Sherco. Saood Variawa also opened his roll of honour at the tender age of 19e years old.
Perseverance has paid off for Lorenzo Santolino, who has warmed Spanish supporters’ hearts by winning his first stage on the Dakar on his 7ᵗʰ participation, after the frustration of three premature exits from the rally in the past. This time, he rode seamlessly in climbing up the day’s leaderboard, having been the 11ᵗʰ rider to set off, finally beating Ricky Brabec at the finishing line by 4 minutes.
Daniel Sanders still leads the general rankings, but American Skyler Howes has moved to within 6’51’’ of the Australian. His Monter Energy Honda HRC team-mate Adrien Van Beveren dropped back to 8ᵗʰ place, 16’24’’ behind the leader, due to a fall that shook him up over a certain part of the distance covered.
The sensation of the day is perhaps the sensation of the century, because Saood Variawa has become the youngest winner in the history of the queen category at the age of just 19 years. The young South African won a hotly contested special, only 23’’ ahead of Guerlain Chicherit, with a very close top 5 in which the young generation shone brightly. However, these small gaps have not changed the top three of the general rankings, with Henk Lategan in the lead, followed by Al Rajhi (4’45’’ behind) and Al Attiyah (11’14’’). The race leaders are more or less rid of the threat of Sébastien Loeb, who lost 1 hour and 3 minutes on the day’s special after rolling his car and this accident’s ensuing consequences.
Nicolás Cavigliasso is resuming the good habits of his quad racing days and picking up the stage wins. Today, he picked up his second of the year and has retained the general standings lead in the Challenger class, with a twenty-minute lead over Gonçalo Guerreiro and Corbin Leaverton, the two young drivers of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team.
‘Chaleco’ López is now racing for honour and is on the hunt for stage wins. Today he won a fifteenth to add to the others accumulated in his participations in the SSV category and Challenger class, but finds himself 2 hours 45 minutes behind Xavier de Soultrait, who is well in the lead with his team-mate Brock Heger in his wake.
The situation in the truck race has settled into a three-way confrontation, still led by Martin Macík, with a lead of 3’34’’ over Aleš Loprais and 34 minutes over Vaidotas Žala, the very efficient newcomer to the category.
Performance of the day
The sequence of names and especially dates of birth for the winners of the first three stages in the Ultimate class on the Dakar is phenomenal. Seth Quintero, at the age of 22 years, kicked off proceedings, bothering the statisticians with a record for the most youthful winner on the first loop around Bisha. Twenty-five-year-old Rokas Baciuška could have claimed this record, but the Lithuanian’s victory on the 48 HR Chrono stage came two days too late. Today, the records have tumbled even further thanks to 19-year-old Saood Variawa. With his stage success, perhaps he will be settling down for the long term as holder of this record, whose details are ultimately not very well-known. The South African, who already scored a 5th placed finish on stage 11 last year, this time came hurtling back after a day of mishaps, during which he collided with his team-mate Giniel de Villiers on yesterday’s stage. In the Toyota clan, it is very likely that this clumsiness has been broadly forgiven and made up for today, all the more so given that the three young men who have shone since the beginning of the rally have all done so in a Hilux. Close examination of the day’s top five is surprising, and perhaps a sign of the times: Guerlain Chicherit (a former very young winner in 2006!) achieved the second-best time, but was followed by Quintero (22 years old), de Mévius (30 years old) and João Ferreira (25 years old).
A crushing blow
Life is never boring with Sébastien Loeb. He has been flamboyant in his sequences of victories but also knows how to be chivalrous during his low points. Once again, he has started the Dakar in such a manner, but the setbacks on the first day of the 48 HR Chrono stage, with engine fan problems causing a time loss of almost three quarters of an hour, were almost absorbed the following day as he put on a show on the return journey to Bisha. Today, the outlook is much cloudier, after he started the special by rolling his car. Initially, the consequences did not seem to be serious, but the after-effects proved to be detrimental. The steering rod that broke 50 kilometres further on could have been easily changed if the spare part had not remained with a part of the bodywork ripped off during the roll in the sand. The man from Alsace was again troubled by engine fan problems, meaning he was unable to drive at his usual pace to make up for lost time. As a result, the Dacia driver now lags 1 hour and 14 minutes behind Henk Lategan in the general rankings on completion of the third stage. For many, this would be a chasm, but for Loeb, it could perhaps be solved by two or three good stages in a row… on the condition that he does not suffer the same fate as his rival Carlos Sainz after inspection of his vehicle by the FIA stewards.
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UPDATE: T'S OVER for Loeb and Lurquin
The nine-time World Rally Champion will not triumph on his ninth attempt to win the Dakar.
After a crash at km 12 of Stage 3, the roll cage of his Dacia Sandrider was damaged. Following an inspection by the FIA's technical stewards, the crew is not authorised to start Stage 4.
Tough break for Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin
Source: A.S.O. / Dakar
Photo: A.S.O. / DPPI
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