A splendid clearing after the galleys. Sébastien Loeb reassured himself on Tuesday by winning the fourth stage of the Dakar 2024 in Saudi Arabia, in the car category. The Prodrive driver was coming off a dark day: three punctures with a finish more than 22 minutes behind the winner.
The terrain was less rocky on Tuesday for the special between Al-Salamiya and Al-Hofuf (299 km). “It was important to get back into it,” said the nine-time world rally champion. Especially since we are going to reach big stages. You shouldn’t have been dumped. »
And now, the “abode of silence”
With this 24th victory in the Dakar, the Alsatian occupies 6th place in the general classification. In search of a first title after having finished second in the last two editions, he gains 1 minute and 8 seconds on the leader of the general classification Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota) and 1 minute 22 on his rival Nasser Al-Attiyah (Prodrive ), third in the stage and overall. Runner-up overall, Carlos Sainz (Audi) finished his race in fourth place (+5’08”), just ahead of his Audi teammate Stéphane Peterhansel (+5’59”).
After a transition stage, the drivers will have to be attentive on Wednesday during the fifth round. They arrive in Empty Quarter, nicknamed the “above of silence”: 645 km of route between Al-Hofuf and Shubaytah including 118 km of special, with lots of sand and dunes.