Al-Attiyah Takes Dakar Lead
Nasser Al-Attiyah became the new leader of the Dakar Rally after finishing fourth in the fifth stage, on a day hit by tragedy.
The racing world was rocked by the death of French motorcyclist Pascal Terry, whose body was discovered early this morning after being missing since the second stage on Sunday.
The 49-year-old had informed race control his Yamaha had run out of petrol at the 197-kilometre mark between Santa Rosa and Puerto Madrid but later could not be contacted by organisers.
A statement from the organisers said: ‘The motorcyclist was found in an area that is very inaccessible with very dense vegetation 15 metres from his bike.
‘He had taken off his helmet and had taken shelter with food and water next to him.’
The fifth stage went ahead nonetheless, and Al-Attiyah, in a BMW, completed the Neuquen-San Rafael special stage in five hours 53 minutes six seconds to climb to the top of the overall standings with a 2mins 24secs lead over South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers (Volkswagen).
Frenchman Christian Poirault (Toyota) recorded a surprise victory in exactly three hours, but it was a bad day for former leader Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen), who suffered mechanical problems and finished 10th, more than three hours behind Poirault.
That result means he slips down to third in the overall standings, 6:33 behind.
Sainz said: ‘I drove 200km without power steering.
‘Driving in these conditions is pretty hard, and when the dunes started, it was even harder and I ended up rolling over.’
Marc Coma’s lead in the motorbikes was cut by 15 minutes after American rider Jonah Street (KTM) claimed his first stage win.
Dutchman Frans Verhoeven (KTM) finished second, 5:53 behind Street, but Coma (KTM) had to settle for ninth place, although he remains on top overall.
Street said: ‘I worked a lot to get this. I have been dreaming of a stage victory for so long. It’s really special.
‘I did some pretty good navigating. I was not the fastest because my bike is so much slower than the ones of the manufacturers’ riders. But I found the right path and this is what the Dakar is all about.’
British rider Michael Extance (Honda) finished 21st and is 24th in overall standings, four places below his countryman Stanley Watt (KTM).
Russian driver Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) won the stage in the trucks, while Spaniard Joan Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha) added his second victory in a row in the quads.
Tomorrow’s sixth stage is a 625km route between San Rafeal to Mendoza, of which 395km will be timed.
That’s mad that the dude died and didn’t even crash! You would think they get him out via chopper or something :ohmy:
