Stage 7: Riad > Wadi Ad Dawasir
Distance: 459 kilometers
Stage position: ninth
Overall position: fifth
After the expected rest day of the Dakar Rally, the action resumed today with a long stage of nearly 900 kilometers between links and timed section, which has served to continue the intense fight at the top of the general classification.
Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Ford Raptor) have finished in ninth position and have cut time to the race leader, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia), who now has a lead of 10 minutes and 27 seconds over Carlos. The Spanish driver has managed to reduce the gap with the Qatari by just over a minute.
Carlos Sainz: “I am satisfied. I would have liked to cut some more time, but well. We are doing what we can; we are fifth, ten minutes behind, and entering an important phase of the race, which is tomorrow and the marathon stage. That is where the rally will be decided and where we will have to try to do our best. There was a complicated place in the final part, but we had a good time. It was a very, very, very fast stage and we tried to do well.”
Tomorrow’s stage
Wadi ad Dawasir > Wadi ad Dawasir
Liaison > 238 km – Special > 483 km
The Dakar has not returned to Wadi ad Dawasir since 2022, so this return deserves a nice tour of the region. The longest special stage of the year will delight the most versatile riders, capable of setting the pace on the off-road plateaus, of dealing with the vegetation on the canyon crossings and of not letting themselves be surprised by the changes of course. Undoubtedly one of the most complete stages of the fortnight; as they say: “first, second and dessert”.