Dakar Stage 5: Peugeot 1-2-3

Loeb wins again

Already the winner of two stages on his first Dakar and leader of the general standings in front of the rally's specialists, Sebastien Loeb continued his progress on this 38th edition. He picked up another victory today and also extended his lead in the general standings. Behind him, Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel gave a second consecutive 1-2-3 to Peugeot. In the bike category, Toby Price won on completion of a perfectly ridden stage, climbing up to third in the general standings.

If he carries on like this, he will make them really angry… Whilst to date the victories of Sebastien Loeb were fairly logical given the profiles of the WRC type stages, today the nine times world champion and his loyal co-pilot Daniel Elena demonstrated that they had what it takes when it comes to navigation. Of course, setting off behind the experienced Peterhansel and Sainz, the inseparable duo were not completely left to their own devices. However, they still had to show that they were capable of following the pace.

In fact, it was Loeb who set the pace throughout the day. Behind him, his team-mates Sainz and Peterhansel exchanged virtual second place several times, before the Spaniard grabbed it on the finishing line. At the end of the stage, he beat the five times winner of the event by 2'38''. Behind the 3 Peugeots, Nasser Al Attiyah (Mini) did what he could, but once again had to resign himself to the domination of the DKR 2008. Efficient and powerful, at the end of this first marathon stage the “Lions" have also demonstrated they are reliable, which will not be any consolation to the Qatari… In the general standings, Loeb now boasts a lead of 7'48'' over Stephane Peterhansel and 13'26'' over Carlos Sainz. Al Attiyah (Mini) is more than 14 minutes behind and must be asking, like many others, just how far can Sebastien Loeb go?

Third last year, Toby Price has given the KTMs a second wind. Leading at all the intermediate points throughout the day, the Australian outclassed his rivals. Antoine Meo, second on the special, also enjoyed an excellent day. On his first experience of the Dakar, the five times world enduro champion is showing day after day that he is a very, very fast learner. Following on from the Frenchman, Stefan Svitko's and Matthias Walkner's performances meant that KTM grabbed the first four places. In the general standings, Goncalves, finishing back in twelfth place today, 8 minutes behind the winner, retains the lead of the rally, 1'45'' ahead of Svitko and 1'47'' in front of Price.

In the quad category, the day was marked by a tidal wave of misfortune that washed away some of the leading lights. Between crashes and mechanical problems, there were many withdrawals. Brazilian rider Marcelo Medeiros and Qatari Abu-Issa have all exited the race this evening. Alexis Hernandez, the day's winner, takes control of the general standings, 48 seconds ahead of Alejandro Patronelli and Sergei Karyakin.

In the truck category the suspense lasted until the very end of the special. Fighting throughout the day with Martin Kolomy (Tatra), in the end Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) won with a lead of 2'32'' over the Czech. As a result, he gave his team its first stage victory on the 38th edition of the Dakar. In the general standings, Federico Villagra (Iveco), third today, takes over command at the expense of Peter Versluis (MAN) but only by 5 seconds!

2016 Dakar Rally Stage Five Results
CARS
1. Sebastien Loeb (FRA) 03:32:34
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +00:00:22
3. Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) +00:03:00
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +00:03:07
5. Leeroy Poulter (ZAF) +00:06:07

BIKES
1. Toby Price (AUS) 04:03:44
2. Stefan Svitko (SVK) +00:02:33
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT) +00:02:40
4. Joan Barreda (ESP) +00:05:57
5. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL) +00:06:51

TRUCKS
1. Eduard Nikolaev (RUS) 04:00:03
2. Martin Kolomy (CZE) +00:02:32
3. Federico Villagra (ARG) +00:04:32
4. Ton van Genugten (NLD) +00:04:32
5. Ayrat Mardeev (RUS) +00:05:58

QUADS
1. Alexis Hernandez (PER) 04:49:24
2. Brian Baragwanath (ZAF) +00:01:36
3. Alejandro Patronelli (ARG) +00:01:56
4. Sergei Kariakin (RUS) +00:02:50
5. Kees Koolen (NLD) +00:03:20

2016 Dakar Rally Overall Standings
CARS
1. Sebastien Loeb (FRA) 13:17:25
2. Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) +00:07:48
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +00:13:26
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +00:14:16
5. Leeroy Poulter (ZAF) +00:18:38

BIKE
1. Paulo Goncalves (POR) 14:30:07
2. Stefan Svitko (SVK) +00:01:45
3. Toby Price (AUS) +00:01:47
4. Joan Barreda (ESP) +00:02:27
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT) +00:02:57

TRUCKS
1. Federico Villagra (ARG) 14:09:13
2. Pieter Versluis (NLD) +00:00:05
3. Hans Stacey (NLD) +00:00:21
4. Gerard de Rooy (NLD) +00:05:50
5. Ayrat Mardeev (RUS) +00:08:49

QUADS
1. Sergei Kariakin (RUS) 16:55:26
2. Alexis Hernandez (PER) +00:04:55
3. Alejandro Patronelli (ARG) +00:05:43
4. Marcos Patronelli (ARG) +00:15:10
5. Jeremias Gonzalez (ARG) +00:16:04