Dakar 2023: Stage 11 - Five stage wins for BRX & Loeb on Dakar 2023

Surfing the huge dunes of Saudi Arabia, Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin have taken their fifth stage victory on this year’s Dakar with their Bahrain Raid Xtreme Prodrive Hunter to make it six stage wins from eleven so far. The endless sand of the Empty Quarter has proven good so far for Loeb as he continues his fight back up the order from 54th overall to now within less than ten minutes of second place.

For the flying Frenchman, it is the first time since 2009 that a driver has taken four Dakar stage victories on the bounce but with three stages to go in this the longest Dakar for over a decade, anything can still happen. Indeed, tomorrow’s test starts tonight as all the rally cars are 430 kms away from the technicians and engineers meaning any service on the cars will be done by the drivers and co-drivers and only with spare parts carried on the car or in the T5 BRX truck that is also competing in the rally.

Guerlain Chicherit/Alex Winocq speared their car through the stage to be right on the tail of Loeb in second place, only 2m 16secs back over the 275 kilometre test, testament once more to the speed and capability of the Hunter on rally raids having only entered it’s first rally 24 months ago.

Making their debut in the Hunter, Vaidotas Zala/Paulo Fiuza also confirmed their speed running fifth overall for 187km before suffering a transmission problem and losing a lot of time having to wait for the BRX support truck.

Tomorrow the crews will complete a further 375 kilometres, 185 of which is on the stage and loops back to Shaybah very close to the UAE border, the reward being back with the BRX support team and a little closer to the finish on Sunday in Dammam.

Gus Beteli, Team Principal: “Seb drove brilliantly today to give us here at Bahrain Raid Xtreme another stage victory to now make six from eleven stages so far, proof of the hard work that everyone here on the rally and those back at Prodrive International have done since the start of this project. We’re now within striking distance of second overall too. With Guerlain making second place it was another good day for BRX although frustrating for Vaidotas after a strong start to the stage. However there are sure to be some further twists and turns over the remaining three days before Sunday.”

Stage 11. Shaybah to Empty Quarter. 275kms.
1st. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – Prodrive Hunter
2nd. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – Prodrive Hunter

Source Prodrive / Bahrain Raid Xtreme