HAIL: The duel between Mini’s Carlos Sainz and Toyota’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah was rekindled in explosive fashion on the opening Baqqa selective section of Hail Baja 2 on Tuesday.
The triple Dakar winners continued the fight for supremacy that they had begun at the fourth round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas last weekend. The Spaniard and co-driver Lucas Cruz moved in front of their rival after around one-third of the day’s 311.57-km stage — after the Toyota Hilux driver stopped to change a puncture — and went on to win the special by 2min 20sec.
Sainz’s stage win deprived Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel of half a point, as they try and hunt down Russian Vladimir Vasilyev (Mini) and Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota) to snatch the FIA Baja title. But second place was sufficient for Al-Attiyah to claim one bonus point for his runner-up spot.