Sébastien Loeb wins in cars and Ross Branch in motorcycles
MADRID, 8 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (Audi) has been left without victory in the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally, disputed between Al Duwadimi and Riyadh, after being penalized for speeding, which has given victory to the French Sébastien Loeb (BRX), while the Botswana Ross Branch (Hero) has prevailed in motorcycles, where the American Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) retains the lead due to another penalty for his compatriot Mason Klein (KTM).
Sainz, three times winner of the Dakar (2010, 2018 and 2020), signed the best time at the finish line after the arrival of all the participants (3:32:55), but the organization imposed a five-minute sanction on him for “circulating at more than 40 km/h in a section limited to 30 km/h”, weighing him down to third place of the day.
With this, he served the victory to the French Sébastien Loeb (BRX), with a 2:11 advantage over the leader of the category, the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), and 3:31 over Sainz, who continues with his misfortune in this edition of the toughest ‘raid’ in the world.
The man from Madrid had to retire on Friday’s stage due to a technical problem with his Audi RS Q e-tron E2, a mishap that cost him a 28-hour and 45-minute penalty and left him with no chance of winning his fourth title in the toughest ‘raid’ in the world. Already on Saturday, he stopped to help his teammate Mattias Ekström after he had a breakdown.
In motorcycles, who returned to competition after not competing in the seventh stage due to weather difficulties, the victory of the day went to the Botswana rider Ross Branch (Hero), who beat the American Mason Klein (KTM) by 1 minute and 33 seconds. , who despite aiming to be the new leader received a two-minute penalty for speeding on the liaison stage.
Thus, the American Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) remains in front of the general classification, who finished 15:06 behind the winner of the stage. Meanwhile, the Spanish Joan Barreda has left 12:30 behind the winner of the special and is eighth overall, 8:21 behind Howes.
