The seventh stage of the Dakar Rally took the competitors out of Al Duwadimi for a wide loop to the southwest of the city, stretching for a shade over 410 km following a decision to cut some of the course off the start. Fast sections on limestone plateaus began to give way to dunes as the dominant landscape on the course. The downpours of the last few days increased the load-bearing capacity of the sand and made the tracks run deeper, providing a narrow line that Daniel Sanders to his fifth stage win of the year.
Co-drivers faced a similar challenge in the car race, competing on their very own course and therefore unable to follow the tracks out of the labyrinth. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Lucas Moraes (pictured above), the 27th driver out of the gate, pounced on the opportunity and stormed to victory. It was a fine rebound from the mechanical issues yesterday that dashed the Brazilian’s hopes of a podium finish.
Meanwhile, the ferocious battle for the top spot overall raged on between Toyota drivers Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al Rajhi. The South African had another tough day, finishing 15th and seeing his lead over Al Rajhi cut to just 21s.
“There was one canyon where everybody was getting lost,” he related. “We were a little bit nervous going in there because you see cars coming from the front and cars coming from all angles out of the mountains. We went all the way out the canyon and then finally found our way. So we hopped from, let’s say, seventh or so on the road all the way to first — and then we were opening for quite a while.
“Then we made one or two small navigation errors. We had a puncture earlier on. So, not a bad day. We’re happy to have found that one waypoint, but not the perfect day.”
The increasingly consistent Mattias Ekstrom placed second on the stage, 7m41s behind Moraes, and holds third overall, 10m25s off the lead. A fellow Ford M-Sport racer, America’s Mitch Guthrie, placed third today and is now fifth overall, behind Dacia’s Nasser Al-Attiyah who placed behind him today. Al-Attiyah is 21m57s off the overall lead, with Guthrie 40m01s back.
One biker has been head and shoulders above the rest since the Dakar got under way. Daniel Sanders, picked up his fifth stage win today, in part thanks to his flair and in part thanks to beginning the special in ninth place. He bested Red Bull KTM teammate Edward Canet by 3m36s on the stage.