Loeb drives on to four peat

Sebastien Loeb’s winning run in the 2023 Dakar Rally shows no signs of slowing down after he dominated Stage 11 on Thursday.
The rally entered the Empty Quarter and the never-ending sand dunes that featured throughout the 274km special proved no concern for Loeb.
The Frenchman stormed out of the gates, opening up more than a minute’s advantage inside the first 63km before eventually building the lead to as high as 3m06s.
Despite losing some time towards the end of the stage, the Bahrain Raid Xtreme driver eventually cruised to a fourth consecutive stage victory.
It is the latest hit in Loeb’s stunning Dakar recovery, as he now sits just nine minutes away from second place after once sitting as low as 31st in the overall rankings.
As Loeb blazed ahead, a thrilling battle for second took place between Guerlain Chicherit and Mattias Ekstrom.

Team Audi Sport’s Mattias Ekstrom tackles a dune in the Empty Quarter. Image: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool
Ekstrom appeared set to secure second in the sole remaining Audi, but he was leapfrogged by Chicherit at the penultimate checkpoint.
The GCK Motorsport driver just edged out Ekstrom by 10 seconds, while being more than two minutes slower than Loeb.
Current rally runner-up Lucas Moraes had to settle for fourth and give up more than six minutes to Loeb as the battle for second heats up.
Al-Attiyah was once again a picture of consistency, remaining composed on the dunes to cruise to fifth and ensure his healthy rally lead of one hour and 21 minutes remained intact.
Al-Attiyah’s Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Henk Lategan was next best ahead of Yazeed Al Rajhi and Mathieu Serradori.
Giniel De Villiers and Martin Prokop rounded out the top 10.
Taylor returns to form

Molly Taylor was able to rediscover some strong form in the dunes last night. Image: MCH Photography
Molly Taylor enjoyed a much-needed confidence booster in the T4 Modified Production SSV class.
The Australian lost almost three hours after finishing 39th in the previous stage, but bounced back in Stage 11, finishing eighth.
Taylor and American co-driver Andrew Short were the best of the rest as the top seven charged for victory and were split by just four and half minutes with Rokas Baciuska eventually taking stage honours.
The strong result allowed the South Racing Can-Am pair to move up one position in the overall rankings up to 14th, 19 minutes away from the next best.
The Empty Quarter Marathon continues tonight with a 185km special to Shaybah as the Dammam finish line approaches.
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