Audi hits back as Loeb makes major error on Dakar Stage 8

Carlos Sainz has extended his Dakar Rally lead by five minutes on an eighth stage on which Audi team-mates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel finished one-two.

After Sebastien Loeb had won three of the past four stages and closed the gap to exactly 19 minutes, Sainz is now 24:47s to the good in the general classification having set the fourth-fastest time of the day.

The 458km special from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il was a stage in two parts, with drivers negotiating sand and dunes before a long transfer section and then rocky terrain.

Despite having to open the road, Loeb was fastest for some time in his Prodrive Hunter.

Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he lost his way around 390km into the special and had to turn around.

It was a mistake which saw Loeb plummet to 10th for the day, exactly 11 minutes slower than Ekstrom and, more importantly, 5:47s slower than Sainz.

He admitted, “We lost almost all that we gained yesterday,” but Sainz was circumspect about declaring mission accomplished.

“I think there’s still a long way for me and there are long stages to come,” said the rally leader.

“You can see how easy it is to lose five or 10 minutes on this race. It’s very stressful.”

There was also a blow for Loeb’s Prodrive stablemate, Nasser Al-Attiyah, whose hopes for outright victory were already over.

The five-time Dakar champion is now officially 87th in the general classification, more than 29 hours behind Sainz, having struck engine problems on Stage 8 and failed to complete the special.

Stage 9 runs from Ha’il to AlUla.

CLICK HERE for Bikes report

General classification: Cars Top 10