Europe 1 with AFP 6:10 p.m., January 12, 2023
Frenchman Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive) won his fifth Dakar 2023 car victory on Thursday between Shaybah and a camp in the dunes of the Empty Quarter (11th stage), three days from a finish where Qatari Nasser Al- Attiyah should once again win the rally-raid.
Sébastien Loeb won his fourth stage in a row on the Dakar 2023 and remains hopeful of finishing second, the final victory seeming promised to Nasser Al-Attiyah, barring a major problem.
The French driver set the best time at the neutralization, a point around the halfway point where the teams in cars must stop for 3 minutes.
The nine-time world rally champion was 2 min 16 sec ahead of his teammate Guerlain Chicherit and 2 min 26 sec of Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom (Audi), at the end of 274 km of special in the Saudi desert.
Brazilian Lucas Moraes finished in 4th position, 5 min 13 sec, ahead of Al-Attiyah (Toyota), 5th at 6 min 42 sec.
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Al-Attiyah retains overall lead
In the provisional general classification, Al-Attiyah remains unbeatable, with 1h 21min ahead of Moraes, and heading for a fifth success in the Dakar.
Third at 1 h 30 min, Loeb is far from having secured his position on the podium, with less than 20 minutes ahead of the South African Henk Lategan (Toyota).
The 45th edition of the Dakar, which started on December 31 from the shores of the Red Sea, continues its dive into the dune desert of the Empty Quarter on Friday, for a second marathon day because the competitors will not have assistance Thursday evening at the bivouac.