Dakar Stage 6/6A: Sainz Sr. leads overall, Al-Rajhi crashes out

Carlos Sainz put in the best performance on the first part of the 48 HR Dakar Rally stage 6/6A. The Spaniard achieved the best time to provisionally take the lead in the car category, with an advantage of almost 16 min. over Mattias Ekström, who finished in second place, 4m30s behind his teammate.

Dakar Rally overall leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi’s hopes of winning this year’s car race at home have been crushed after an accident in Thursday’s sixth stage around Shubaytah.

“The car did a barrel roll and now is damaged,” explained Al-Rajhi, who finished third in last year’s race.

The 42-year-old Saudi Toyota driver was unable to repair his Hilux after an accident which occurred 51km into the stage, organizers said in statement.

“The crew is safe and sound, but are currently returning to the start of the special,” the statement read.

“His hopes of winning the Dakar 2024 have been crushed, but the Saudi driver will be able to start stage 7 the day after the rest day, as long as his 4×4 has been repaired and complies with all the safety rules stipulated by the FIA.”

Bikes

When racing through the dunes, the ability to climb and to get over them is not the be all and end all. It may seem obvious, but it’s essential to take mechanical aspects into account as well, and that starts with a basic parameter: managing how much fuel you have.

Pablo Quintanilla, who ran out of fuel ten kilometers before the first Dakar Stage 6 refueling point, paid a hefty price for his negligence and, after 424 km, has dropped down the rankings by more than 1 hour and 40 minutes. Several of his teammates on the Honda team, for whom he will now be able to act as a water (or petrol!) carrier, were wiser as well as more efficient and can still envisage triumphing in Yanbu, notably Ricky Brabec who is now the virtual leader Dakar Bike of the general rankings with an advantage of 2m48s over Ross Branch.

However, the same can be said for Nacho Cornejo and Adrien Van Beveren, the day’s quickest rider up to point F, located after 537 kilometers, where ten bikers will be spending the night tonight.

Results – To follow……