RIYADH — France's nine-time world
rally champion
Sebastien Loeb made inroads into overall Dakar leader
Nasser Al-Attiyah's
advantage after finishing third in Monday's 395km special stage from Al-Dawadimi
to Wadi Ad Dawasir.
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Loeb admitted that despite reducing Qatari
driver Attiyah's lead to less than 38 minutes — the event finishes on January
14 — it had been a "very stressful day" on a stage won by Sweden's
Mattias Ekstrom in an Audi hybrid vehicle.
"We were going along at a heck of a
rhythm and then had a puncture after 28km," said Loeb.
"We quickly changed the tire losing
less than two minutes.
"We regained our old rhythm till the
halfway point when we saw that we had lost our spare wheel and it was the only
one we had left, so I was a bit careful at the end, but I think in the end I
drove a good stage."
Attiyah bidding for a fourth win in the race
said it had been a nerve-wracking drive.
“For 350 km we had one puncture and then we
only had front-wheel drive because we broke the rear," he said.
"I was really scared all the way. On
the last part I said, 'I don’t care, on the last 50km I will try to push a
little bit'.
"But it was not easy with just the
front-wheel drive. I'm really lucky to be here."
The 51-year-old Qatari added even with his
sizeable lead he was far from assuming he had the title in the bag.
"The
Dakar is never finished, you know?
We'll try to respect the Dakar," he said.
"The Dakar is the Dakar."
The motorbike section is far tighter with
Britain's 2017 champion Sam Sunderland regaining the overall lead after winning
the stage on his KTM bike.
The 32-year-old Dubai-based rider leads
Austria's world champion Mattias Walkner by 3min 45sec though less than six
minutes covers the top four.
"It looks like the race is really close
this year and it's cool for everybody at home watching," said Sunderland.
"It's difficult for us as riders, it's
a bit like an emotional rollercoaster.
"Anyway, I have to be happy with the
good times and try to take care when I have a rough day like yesterday.
"I felt so down because I had quite a
rough day.
"I just have to try and stay motivated
and keep banging the hammer because there are still some long days to come, I'm
sure."
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