Dakar 2024 Day 9: Sainz extends lead, Loeb lost
Triple Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz stretched his overall lead as closest rival Sebastien Loeb lost his way in the Saudi Arabian desert.
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Triple Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz stretched his overall lead as closest rival Sebastien Loeb lost his way in the Saudi Arabian desert.
After Mattias Ekström lost hope of a strong finish in this year's Dakar Rally when his Audi RS Q e-tron had a suspension failure on Sunday's seventh stage, the Swedish driver might have given up.
Sebastien Loeb started Dakar Rally's final week with a third stage win on Sunday to slash Spaniard Carlos Sainz's overall lead to 19 minutes.
The unique challenges of the Dakar Rally's new "48 Chrono" double stage -- a 835km/519-mile slog through the dunes of Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter -- tested the limits of the competitors' endurance, so it was appropriate that one of the greatest rallying talents of all time came out on top.
Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon has died more than a week after crashing in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, his team confirmed.