Stage 9: Wadi Ad Dawasir > Camp Shelter
Distance: 418 kilometers timed
Stage position: seventh
Overall position: second
With the dispute of the second marathon stage, the ninth of this edition of the Dakar Rally, the race has reached its decisive part, in which Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Ford Raptor) are in second place in the overall standings after completing a great day today in which they finished seventh.
The Spanish riders have attacked hard in this marathon stage, managing to get into the first positions, but a waypoint has complicated the special, making them lose some time. Despite this, they managed to finish seventh, ahead of all their direct rivals in the fight for the lead of the race. After this day, they are second in the overall standings, just 57 seconds behind the new leader, their Ford teammate, Nani Roma.
The second part of the marathon stage, to be held tomorrow, could mark the outcome of the race, in which Sainz and Cruz will start from seventh position, without having to open the track.
Carlos Sainz: “Today the navigation was really difficult. We had a hard time finding a waypoint. We went round and round and I don’t really know how we ended up. After that mistake I got a penalty for speeding”.
Tomorrow’s stage
Camp Refugio Camp > Bisha
Link > 371 km – Special > 421 km
The second part of the marathon will have a main ingredient: the dunes, which will extend for more than 300 kilometers of the special. This is the area of the famous images of Carlos Sainz’s Audi trying to crown one of the giant dunes of Bisha. The finish will be easier through fast tracks.