the victory of Al Attiyah he was sold to his luck and although until now he had always had her on his side, she finally abandoned him during the third stage in Abu Dhabi. The Qatari only needed to finish off the job of a race that was facing its final stretch, but a very strong accident in which he suffered up to four rollovers has made him lose his fourth title in this event without contemplation. And it won’t be out of desire. The main reason is a Hilux that arrived completely destroyed to the finish line of the wildest special that Nasser has starred in, although the most important thing is that both the current Dakar winner and his co-driver Baumel have not suffered any damage. The rest is yet another feat marked by disbelief.
The hood, roof and rear of the Toyota arrived in pieces to the goal and with victory in his power! A completely wrecked car was able to win the win by 48 seconds and it is that until the moment of the accident, the advantage of Al Attiyah with Loeb (2nd), was even more superior. Although in the Japanese structure they focused from the first moment on evaluating if they could continue in the race, more than on the times of the day. And the verdict was not favorable. The organization itself questioned the continuity of Nasser: “The security cell is very damaged and barring a miracle during the night, the Qatari will not be able to start tomorrow”. And later they confirmed what was expected: andThe Qatari says goodbye to the race and compromises his aspirations in the World Cup.
Was “a difficult decision to make”but it was not worth spending the night in vain looking for tune up again a chassis damaged enough to make its repair unfeasible. Therefore, the abandonment of Nasser makes him lose all the points (15) that he had achieved for his scoreboard with his victories in Abu Dhabi, since the Qatari took the first three stages, and unless he lives an outcome similar to that of Al Attiyah, Loeb will direct his leadership in the general right on the same day where, for the first time, he completed a clean stage. Good news for a driver who started off on the wrong foot and may have a completely different ending. But that’s how desert racing is.
Price inherits Quintanilla’s win
It may seem contradictory that in a speed test, an excess of this deprives you of victory. But a penalty of 2 minutes has done the same with the triumph of quintanilla. The Chilean returned to the charge after a second stage where the fact of opening the track took its toll on him, but he suffered for exceeding the maximum speed, leaving Price as heir to his victory. 16 seconds gave him the first victory of the edition to the KTM pilot, who continues to shrink the fence in the face of a leadership that remains in the hands of Honda. Van Beveren, fifth, one minute behind the day’s winner, retains first place overall… but by 16 seconds over his teammate and 19 over the Austrian. The countdown is on and every second will be decisive.
Results Stage 3 cars
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Results Stage 3 bikes
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