“I think that for Mattias (Ekström) or Sébastian Loeb, finishing second or third is of no use to them. “I’m sure they will take risks,” said Carlos Sainz. on the rest day of the Dakar, as the solid leader of the race, with a margin of 20 minutes on the Swede and 29 on the Frenchman. It makes it clear that nothing has been decided and that there is a lost world. He expected the attacks of his rivals, and they came. Ekström was unlucky and bid farewell to victory due to a problem at the start of the special. Meanwhile, Loeb had a good day: he won stage 7 and scratched 10 minutes and 31 seconds from Carlos Sainz in the fight for victory in the cars of Dakar 2024. The battle tightens with 5 days left with a Loeb with nothing to lose , attacking hard to achieve his first ‘touareg’ in his eighth participation. The difference in the overall standings to the Frenchman is now 19 minutes. Anything can happen.
The Dakar is now a matter of two
In such a close and competitive Dakar, Carlos’ rivals began to disappear from the marathon stage. Al_Rajhi was abandoned in 6A and Al-Attiyah informed his options in 6B. With 6 days left, in the Dakar ring, fighting for the heavyweight belt, there are only three ‘fighters’ left. Carlos, 61 years old, after a great first week and great mental acuity, after making a perfect strategy with a strong right hand in the marathon stage. Ekström and Loeb, more injured, with the appearance of more worn gloves, had to rush their choices. And there, After the problems of Ekström, who stopped for more than an hour at the beginning of the day, the quality and pride of a 9-time winner of the World Rally Championship like Sébastien Loeb.
The toughest race in the world has been too harsh in its 7 previous attempts. There was always something going on with him that kept him from fighting. He choked more than expected and was left without a taste of Dakarian glory. But this time, since the winner of the last editions, Al-Attiyah, was not in the game, Carlos did not want to take away that desire and he continued to try everything.
Loeb provided a brutal display of force to put pressure on Carlos in stage 7. After winning the 6th special, Loeb was expected to suffer at the opening of the track on a day that the organization assured would have complex navigation. It didn’t seem to be the ideal scenario for ‘Seb’, as Carlos came right out on him, able to mark him from afar and take control of his time cushion, following his tracks. That seems to have been the Madrid man’s strategy from the very beginning. Having 29 minutes in the general classification, Carlos drove with his head. He stayed about 2 or 3 minutes behind the Frenchman from the start, without getting on Loeb’s wheel to avoid falling into a trap due to the poor visibility that comes with riding in the dust kicked up by the car in front.
Loeb is flying
Carlos passed 3’24” behind Loeb at kilometer 341 of a total of 483. The day looked perfect for Carlos to maintain a wide margin of 26 minutes in the general classification, giving up only 3 minutes and letting Loeb take the lead. . the next day again to increase the chances of ‘Seb’ making a mistake. However, from then on, Loeb set a dizzying pace that no one could follow. So does Carlos, who has more to lose and less to risk.
So, the difference with Sainz increases. It was 7’17” at the checkpoint at kilometer 373. And it increased to 9’15” at kilometer 427, 50 kilometers from the finish line. At 460Carlos maintained that 9 minutes, with the third best time of the day. But in the final kilometers, an insatiable Loeb continued his particular fight and pushed on again, scratching another minute from the ‘Matador’. Finally, he won stage 7 with a 7 minute margin over Moraes and took 10’31 from Carlos Sainz.
Sainz is still leading but has 10 minutes less advantage over Loeb, who is 19 minutes behind. The Dakar is getting tougher. There are only 5 days left and Loeb reopens on stage 8 this Monday. Everything has yet to be decided. Excitement increased. There are many Dakars left.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
