Stopped for more than an hour due to mechanical incidents, Sébastien Loeb finished the 11th stage of the Dakar on Thursday, 1h27′ behind the day’s winner, Guerlain Chicherit. Carlos Sainz, 3rd of the day, flies towards a new coronation.
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This year is definitely not the right one for Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive). Already bothered by a puncture during Wednesday’s stage, the Frenchman lost more than an hour on the winner of the 11th stage of the Dakar, Guerlain Chicherit (Toyota Overdrive), Thursday January 18. The Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Audi), leader of the general classification, finished in third place, 5’35” behind the Frenchman, and only three seconds behind Guillaume De Mevius (+5’32”).
A second consecutive success for Guerlain Chicherit, who took advantage of the setbacks of Sébastien Loeb and Lucas Moraes to get closer to the podium in the general classification. He, who was 19th in the general classification last Thursday, could achieve the best performance of his career on the Dakar (he finished 5th in 2010).
An hour’s break for Sébastien Loeb
Well off to a good start in his duel against Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb saw his hopes go up in smoke after 132 kilometers of racing, when his right front triangle twisted. Immobilized for more than an hour, the nine-time WRC world champion finished 1h27’15” behind Carlos Sainz, which pushed him back to 1h27″03″ in the general classification.
With one stage remaining in this 2024 Dakar, the 61-year-old Spaniard is one hour and 27 minutes ahead of his first pursuer, Guillaume De Mevius (Toyota Overdrive), and should barring a major accident, win a fourth coronation. For Sébastien Loeb, second place is still accessible, since he is 7’56” behind the Belgian De Mevius.
