DAY 8: Stage 6 – January 12, 2024 Route: Shubaytah > Shubaytah – Liaison 209km and Special 626km
Carlos Sainz put all of his off-road racing experience into devising a strategy for the never-before-seen 48-hour Chrono Stage. By holding back on Stage Five the Audi RS Q e-tron driver booked himself a slot as the 17th car to start Stage Six and its two-day route through the dunes. The 61-year-old got his tactics spot on he finished Stage Six at the top of the general classification with a cushion of 20m21s over his nearest rival, fellow Team Audi Sport driver Mattias Ekström.
– Also proving tactically astute on the two-day stage around the Shubaytah bivouac was Sébastien Loeb who won the 25th stage of his Dakar career. This feat sees Loeb equal Hiroshi Masuoka as the driver with the sixth most Dakar stage wins.
– The shock news on day two of the Chrono Stage was the massive time losses of defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. A broken steering arm saw the five-time Dakar winner lose close to three hours. While victory at this Dakar may now be out of sight, the Qatari is determined to fight on for valuable World Championship points.
– Mitch Guthrie Jr.’s mission for the second week in Saudi Arabia is clear… chip away at the time that separates him from Challenger class leader Eryk Goczal. Also looking to reel in Goczal on the way to Yanbu are Cristina Gutiérrez, Chaleco López and Austin ‘AJ’ Jones who sit third, fourth and fifth overall respectively.
– It’s been a determined effort throughout the first week of this Dakar by two-time Bike race champion Toby Price to stay in touch with the leaders. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider has reached the Rest Day with a string of three Top 5 stage results to put himself fifth overall with half of the rally still to go. Meanwhile, Price’s KTM team-mate Kevin Benavides is one place and 1m 33s behind him in the general classification. Both riders are less than half an hour behind current Bike race leader Ricky Brabec’s Honda.
2024 Dakar Rally overall standings after Stage 6
Ultimate Car
1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 24h 59m 32s
2. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +20m 21s
3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +29m 31s
Challenger Car
1. Eryk Goczal (POL) 26h 18m 20s
2. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +1h 02m 18s
3. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +1h 26m 34s
Bike
1. Ricky Brabec (USA) 27h 11m 21s
2. Ross Branch (BWA) +51s
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA) +9m 21s
