AL-Attiyah takes over Dakar lead

The lead in the race for the 2023 Dakar Rally Cars title has changed hands for the first time with defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah moving ahead of an unlucky Carlos Sainz Sr.

After a solid start Sainz arrived into the third special held over 467km between Alula and Ha’il with a lead of 2 minutes and 12 seconds over Al-Attiyah.

With Sainz and Al-Attiyah winning the first and second stages respectively, a tense tug-of-war was starting to be established, but the Toyota driver from Qatar now enjoys a strong advantage.

Al-Attiyah enjoys a 13m20sec lead in the general classification, as his main rival Sainz suffered numerous mechanical issues.

The Spaniard’s pain started at the 213km point when his Audi RS 1 e-tron broke down, while additional left-rear tyre problems cost him the best part of half an hour.

Despite getting back on the road, navigational dramas later in the stage saw the two-time World Rally champion lose another 20 minutes.

Carlos Sainz lost his Dakar Rally lead after a difficult Stage 3. Image: Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool

The continual problems relegated Sainz to a P44 finish in Stage 3, which meant he slipped from first to eighth in the general rankings.

Sainz was not the only one to suffer dramas with two unlucky drivers being stranded in a flood as heavy rain cut the stage short by 70km.

A steady run to 13th was enough for Al-Attiyah to take control of the rally lead with Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Stephane Peterhansel now his nearest challengers.

With leading contenders Al-Attiyah, Sainz, Peterhansel and Mattias Ekstrom unable to register a stage winning time, the door was open for an outsider to take their chance.

Al-Rajhi made the early statement by leading at the first waypoint, but it was Guerlain Chicherit, who seized on the opportunity.

Chicherit put the foot down in the back half of the special to take a maiden stage win after 3H 22’ 57’’ of driving.

The GCK Motorsport driver finished three and a half minutes ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Henk Lategan.

The ill-fated Dakar campaign of nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb continues to spiral out of control after he endured a second consecutive nightmare day on the dirt.

Loeb fell a further 90 minutes behind Al-Attiyah as more mechanical dramas slowed him down.

Molly Taylor was forced to spend more time on the tools than she would have liked during a difficult Stage 3. Image: MCH Photography

Taylor’s momentum slows after ‘day to forget’

Australian T4 Modified Production competitor Molly Taylor entered the third stage on a high, but she has lost ground after a tough drive to Ha’il.

Taylor rose from 13th to ninth in the general rankings in Stage 2, but has now dropped back to 15th.

She and navigator Andrew Short experienced multiple flat tyres and visibility issues as the rain wrecked havoc on their way to a P39 stage finish.

The troubles meant car #414 lost around 90 minutes on a day that Taylor will not remember fondly.

“It has been a day to forget for us,” she said.

“We had three punctures and only carry two (spares) so we had to sit on the side of the road for over an hour waiting for the truck to give us a spare tyre.

“Then we had to crawl through with no back up and it was so wet visibility was next to zero.

“But it is a long race and we will keep our heads down and fight back tomorrow.”

A 425km loop starting and finishing at Ha’il is next with mountains of sand awaiting the field.

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