Sebastien Loeb keeps pressure on Al-Attiyah in Dakar Rally

Sebastien Loeb put in a solid display today by keeping the pressure on Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah during a day in which 52 seconds separated the three fastest drivers in the world's toughest rally.

The Bahrain Red Extreme team's nine-times world rally champion kept his eye on rival Nasser Al-Attiyah, setting the second-fastest time in the 465-kilometre fourth stage, just 25 seconds behind Qatar's Al-Attiyah and 27 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz.

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) won the first place in the fourth stage, which spanned a distance of 464 km between Qaisumah and the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after a two-minute penalty inflicted on the Saudi driver Yazid Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota).

Al-Rajhi had won the stage after passing it by 3 hours and 54 minutes, but he was soon penalized for exceeding the legal speed limit, to drop to fifth place.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news