It’s the fourth, but this one has a little something extra. A “a bit special” taste, as Carlos Sainz noted upon arrival. The historic Spanish driver won the 2024 Dakar this Friday, at the end of the 12th and final stage in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. His fourth personal coronation (after 2010, 2018 and 2020), therefore, which makes him the oldest winner in the history of the rally-raid at the age of 61, and also the first success for Audi in the event .
“Audi has made a car totally different from the others. It was difficult, but we managed to finally achieve this victory, said Sainz, relayed by The Team. We had good speed, good rhythm and a good strategy. But also a great team with very good teammates. And we did everything well. »
Prodrive in the crosshairs
The Spaniard, double world rally champion in his first life (1990, 1992), was in fact able to count on a reliable car and luxury teammates. When you have Stéphane Peterhansel, 14 final victories on the clock (six in motorcycles, eight in cars), and Mattias Ekström, former world rallycross champion, always there behind you in case of a problem, it helps to watch the race more calmly.
Sébastien Loeb has reason to be jealous, he who spent his time changing flat tires on his Hunter BRX, developed by Prodrive. The British trainer is coming out of this edition weakened, which will have seen its drivers in difficulty due to problems that have been noted for a while. Ask Nasser Al-Attiyah, who tried it this year after his 2023 victory over Toyota, and who no longer wants to hear about this car.
“This body was made for performance, but in terms of solidity, it’s not that. As soon as we go beyond the limit, we can quickly break, sooner than the others,” Loeb soberly commented upon arrival. The French driver prefers to see the positive side: this new podium won by a hard struggle even though he saw himself “take the helicopter and get out of there” on Thursday, after yet another mechanical problem which took away any chance of winning his first Dakar.
The sacrifice of his teammate Yungang Zi, from whom he was able to take his suspension triangle, finally allowed him to restart, win the last stage and finish 3rd in the general classification, behind the Belgian Guillaume De Mevius (Toyota). “Given the situation, it’s not so bad,” puts the former king of the WRC into perspective, for whom a final victory in the legendary rally-raid remains more than ever “the ultimate objective”. Loeb will return next year for a ninth attempt, we’ll just have to see which car.