Qatari pilot Nasser Al-Attiyah The current Dakar champion (Prodrive) crossed the dunes this Wednesday on the first big stage in the Saudi desert and beat Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Audi) in the general classification by 2 minutes 28 seconds. continues to lead the classification.
Al-Attiyah refused to play hide and seek as many predicted because whoever wins this Wednesday will have to open the clue this Thursday on the queen stage Dakar 2024, that runners will not bear motorcycle scars. In fact, in the 48-hour time trial to be held in the Empty Quarter, the most inhospitable part of the Arabian Rub al-Jali desert, cars and motorcycles will follow different routes for two days.
The Qatari will thus be the first to start the next 48-hour time trial in the desert, and although this is primarily a disadvantage, the five-time Dakar winner has stated that he does not care because he wants to “win the stage.” Well, there is “no strategy” for the queen stage on Thursday and Friday other than “trying to finish the 600 kilometers” covered by the sand dunes.
there was sainz, At the end of the day, the person who guarantees it They tried “not to go too fast and just stop there in the end”It’s a technique that will have to wait until this Thursday to see if it’s successful: “We have to wait a few more days to see if it’s good,” he stressed.
this was that Stage before the 48-hour trial periodUnknown to the drivers and the organization, this is a day that affects the fact that the drivers of vehicles who will travel more than 550 km in two days this week will have to sleep in a tent in the middle of the desert. they only have their share of “military style” food.