This is how the Dakar classification looks like after stage 7: Sainz and Loeb, it’s a matter of two

The classification of Dakar after stage 7 held this Sunday left Sebastien Loeb already Carlos Sainz alone in the head-to-head fight to win the absolute victory of the Dakar in cars. The Frenchman won stage 7 with devilish speed, especially in the second part of the stage, where he pushed to put more pressure on Carlos Sainz.

This way, Loeb will have to reopen the track this Monday on stage 8, but given what he saw this Sunday, he doesn’t seem to mind. ANDIn stage 7 he opened the track by accidentwithout the slightest hesitation, to enhance the battle for victory, a battle where Ekström, who stood for more than an hour at the start of the special, was no longer there.

Sainz continues to lead

Carlos Sainz still leads the Dakar classification after stage 7 in cars but his advantage has been reduced from 29 minutes to 19 with respect to Loeb who wants to continue the attack in the 5 remaining days.

Moraes and Monleón entered the podium place

In the third position, Lucas Moraes, accompanied by Catalan co-driver Armand Monleón, moved up to third place, overtaking rookie Guillaume De Mevius in the battle for the podium.

Al-Attiyah, who ran out of options in the marathon stage due to trouble with his car, rose to 10th position and should continue to climb.

Nani Roma left

In its part, Nani Roma, who started the day in 13th place overallwho had clear options to fight for the Top-10 in his first year at Ford, had to leave due to a mechanical problem and did not appear in the Dakar classification after the 7th stage.

Dakar general classification after stage 7:

1. (ESP) CARLOS SAINZ and (ESP) LUCAS CRUZ, TEAM AUDI SPORT 30H 06′ 42”
2. (FRA) SEBASTIEN LOEB and (BEL) FABIAN LURQUIN, BAHRAIN RAID XTREME + 00H 19′ 00”
3. (BRA) LUCAS MORAES and (ESP) ARMAND MONLEON, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING + 01H 00′ 35”
4. (BEL) GUILLAUME DE MEVIUS and (FRA) XAVIER PANSERI, OVERDRIVE + 01H 30′ 07”
5. (ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS and (ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING + 01H 40′ 07″
6. (CZE) MARTIN PROKOP and (CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA, ORLEN JIPOCAR TEAM + 01H 50′ 40”
7. (FRA) GUERLAIN CHICHERIT and (FRA) ALEX WINOCQ, OVERDRIVE RACING + 01H 58′ 40”
8. (ZAF) GUY DAVID BOTTERILL, (ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING + 02H 11′ 16”
9. (LTU) BENEDIKTAS VANAGAS, (EST) KULDAR SIKK and TOYOTA GAZOO RACING BALTICS + 02H 22′ 53”
10. (QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH and (FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL, NASSER RACING + 02H 40′ 10”

*Top 10 classification pending the arrival of more participants. As soon as more Spaniards arrive, we will update the results.