Spanish Carlos Sainz this Friday he raised his fourth Dakar on the day when the Olympus of motorsport consists of names of the German level Mikhail SchumacherBrazilian Ayrton Senna or French Stefan Peterhanseland began, which is not surprising to anyone, legend of this sport.
Sainz together with his tireless companion, the Catalan Lucas Cruzthe Madrid-born co-pilot made history by becoming the first driver to complete hybrid car Dakar champion, an unimaginable milestone, just like 61 years oldlike Sainz, lifts his fourth Touareg.
Lucas Cruz, co-driver, and Carlos Sainz, driver, celebrate victory at the 2024 Dakar Rally | Photo: EFE
And he did it with force, because after the Frenchman’s breakdown Sebastian Loeb On Thursday, the Spaniard finished the test more than an hour and twenty minutes ahead of the Belgian. Guillaume de Mevius (Toyota), taking second place in the classification, ahead of Loeb, who finished on the third step of the podium.
Although the Spanish rider and his co-driver did not win a single stage, they proved themselves throughout most of the Dakar and were the main protagonists on the three most difficult stages; They came second on the first day, full of stones and punctures, second on the sixth, 48-hour time trial across the world’s largest desert sand from the last and third in the penultimate marathon of stones, in which Sainz slowed down after seeing Loeb’s breakdown, knowing that no one could come close to his overall time.
Carlos Sainz celebrates his Dakar victory with his son Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari Formula 1 driver | Photo: EFE
Another big difference from competitors was that perfect performance for your Audi, a car that the brand itself commented on was twice as likely to stop as other cars, but which nevertheless did not cause any problems during the Dakar Rally. In fact, Sainz’s biggest flaw was his lack of understanding punctures.
“Let’s go fast, Spike; Walking slowly, I still get stuck… in the end, you don’t know what to do,” Sainz emphasized last Wednesday. However this a completely minor evil for Dakar marked, in addition to the enthusiasm of the Madrid native, by problems that left Sainz without great favourites.
Saudi Arabia Jazid Al Rajhi Toyota, which had led from stage three to day six, rolled over the dunes on the first of two days of the Dakar royal stage. On the second day of this stage, the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Prodrive), knowing that Sainz was opening to a 25-minute lead, tried his best, but the Dakar did not give him the chance to re-validate the Touareg for the third year in a row, and he lost more than an hour due to mechanical failure.
Photo: Reuters
From then on it was a matter of managing the effort. The Spaniard had an advantage over the Swede for more than twenty minutes. Mattias Ekström (Audi) and a little over thirty on Leb. The first to fall was the Swede, whose two-hour breakdown made him forget about his chances of fighting for the general classification.
For his part, Loeb was beaten, saying goodbye to his chances last Thursday when a broken suspension dropped him to third, more than an hour and a quarter behind Sainz.
So this is last stage 174 km Loeb’s victory was a triumphant race for the Madrid man, who thus became the first rider in Dakar history to win the race for four different brands, and the oldest rider to be over 61 years old.
In category motorcyclesAmerican Ricky Brabec teams Monster Energy Honda was crowned for the second time at the most popular rally in the world.
Ricky Brabec | Photo: Reuters
(according to information from EFE)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
