Dakar Rally: Lategan Leads, Al-Attiyah Penalized for Spare Wheel Infraction
Henk Lategan extends his Dakar Rally lead as Nasser Al-Attiyah is denied a stage win due to a 10-minute penalty for a spare wheel infraction.
Toyota's Henk Lategan has extended his lead in the Dakar Rally, while a 10-minute penalty denied Nasser Al-Attiyah a stage win for Dacia. Al-Attiyah, 54, from Qatar, had a dominant day in the Saudi Arabian desert but was penalized for arriving at the finish without a spare wheel.
Lategan, 30, from South Africa, now leads Yazeed Al-Rajhi, driving a Toyota for the Overdrive Racing team, by 10 minutes and 17 seconds overall. Lategan finished third in the 428km stage five from Al Ula to Hail. “We did a good job. It was a high pace, which means it was easy to make mistakes and lose time. I’m happy with the whole week, even if starting first the day after tomorrow wasn’t part of the plan,” Lategan said.
The Dakar Rally will resume on Saturday from Hail to Al-Duwadimi, following a rest day on Friday. Five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah had initially celebrated a first stage win for the Renault-owned Dacia brand but was later penalized.
As a result of Al-Attiyah's penalty, Toyota's American Seth Quintero was promoted to stage winner, his second of the event. Quintero secured the win by a single second after Al-Attiyah's penalty was applied.
Nasser Al-Attiyah's penalty dropped him to 35 minutes behind leader Henk Lategan, undoing the progress he made in the stage. Without the penalty, Al-Attiyah would have secured his 49th career stage win, leaving him one shy of the record held jointly by Stephane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen.
Al-Attiyah, 54, is still seeking to extend his record of winning at least one stage in the Dakar Rally to 18 consecutive editions. The Qatari driver is determined to achieve this milestone despite the setback.
In the motorcycle category, Australian KTM rider Daniel Sanders maintained his lead, holding a seven-minute and two-second advantage over Spaniard Tosha Schareina. Botswana's Ross Branch retained his third-place position. Sanders reflected on his stage, saying, “On the last 40 km, I had a little navigation instrument problem again. I’m just disappointed.”
🏁 Stage 5️⃣ - Cars 🚘
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 9, 2025
Provisional top 3:
🥇 Seth Quintero
🥈 Nasser Al Attiyah
🥉 Mattias Ekstrom
UPDATE: Al Attiyah was given a 10-minute penalty due to a missing spare wheel at the finish. He thus lost the stage victory by only 1 second to Quintero. The American therefore… pic.twitter.com/MAE57zYuIL
Despite the navigation issue, Sanders expressed relief that it occurred near other riders, allowing him to continue. He added, “I’m glad it happened at the end of the stage when I was with other riders, otherwise I would have been stuck.”
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