The Finn Ari Vatanen, with the Swedish map reader Bruno Berglund, won five straight stages in 1989 in what was then called the Paris-Dakar rally, and now only the Dakar rally.
Now he is no longer the best of all time.
Because today, on the penultimate stage of this year's Dakar Rally (which is now being run in Saudi Arabia), the Frenchman Sebastien Loeb won his sixth straight stage, a 154-kilometer stretch between Shaybah to Al-Hofuf.
- It's fantastic, even if the record wasn't necessarily my goal.
Above all, I wanted to cement my second place, says Loeb, according to the Reuters news agency.
“In a good location”
Despite the six straight victories, Loeb does not seem to be able to beat the leader, today's second Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah.
The reigning champion is a full hour and 21 minutes ahead of Loeb in the summary.
- WE finished second and are now in a good position, and I am happy to keep the lead before the decider, says Al-Attiyah.
Swedish Mattias Ekström finished third on today's stage, and is in 15th place in the summary.