Hail (Saudi Arabia) (AFP)
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Mini) won the fifth stage of the Dakar-2020 disputed between Al Ula and Hail in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and thus consolidates his place as leader in the general classification.
Sainz, who had already won the third special on Tuesday, completed the 353 km of special 2 min 56 sec in front of the Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyha (Toyota).
After his stage victory the day before, the French Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini) took third place and joined the finish with 6 min 11 sec behind the winner of the day.
In general, the 57-year-old Spanish veteran, double winner of the event (2009 and 2018), counts almost minutes ahead of his dolphin Al-Attiyha and 18 minutes on "Peter".
Friday, the Dakar leaves Hail to reach the capital Ryad for a long stage of 830 km (including 478 km of special), before offering a day of rest on Saturday.
© 2020 AFP