Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken his third straight stage win in 2021 Dakar Stage 4 yet still remains in second overall behind Stephan Peterhansel.
Toyota Gazoo Racing HiLux driver Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken his third straight stage win in 2021 Dakar Stage 4 ahead of Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) and fellow Toyota Gazoo Racing HiLux driver and rookie Henk Lategan.
Stage 4 from Wadi Ad-Dawasir to Riyadh consisted a 476km Liason and a fast 337km Special that allowed competitors to reach the top speeds of their machines for long durations. Nasser Al-Attiyah averaged 129.63km over the Special, which he completed just 11 seconds ahead of Peterhansel – that equates to a margin of just 395m after 337km of racing!
After four stages completed so far in the 2021 Dakar, Petrhansel has a 3m 58s lead over Al-Attiyah, with Carlos Sainz (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) in third.
“Yes, I am quite happy,” Al-Attiyah said. “To win three stages from four, it looks fantastic. Yesterday and today, we open all the way, and to win, this is good for us, it gives us a lot of confidence…”
In the Bike category, Aussie Daniel Sanders (KTM Factory Team) had another epic stage, finishing second fastest behind stage winner Joan Barreda Bort (Monster Energy Honda Team 2021) and ahead of third-place getter Luciano Benavides (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing).
“It was a solid ride for me today,” Daniel Sanders said. “I just wanted to focus a lot more today, yesterday I was not 100 per cent focussed… I just wanted to chip away at it today and keep reminding myself to stay on top of the road book and the navigation… I only had one crash in the dunes, and got stuck a little bit, but recovered pretty quick from that so, other than that, it was a good day.”
After yesterday’s stage win, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Team) had to lead the field and with no tracks in front of him he again suffered a few navigation issues, finishing Stage 4 in 22nd. The other Aussie rider in this year’s event, Michael Burgess (BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team) finished Stage 4 in 34th.
In the overall rankings, Xavier de Soultrait (HT Rally Husqvarna Racing) leads the bike category ahead of Joan Barreda Bort and Ross Branch (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team). Toby Price has dropped to eighth overall but still remains optimistic.
Dimitry Sotnikov (Kamaz – Master) returned to the top of the charts in the Truck category after yesterday’s stage winner Siarhei Viazovich (Maz-Sportauto) lost a couple of hours to mechanical issues. Sotnikov beat home his teammate Andrey Karginov and Aliaksei Vishneuski (Maz-Sportauto) on Stage 4. In the overall rankings Sotnikov now leads Martin Macik (Big Shock Racing) and Anton Shibalov (Kamaz – Master).
You can catch the 2021 Dakar Stage 4 action at Red Bull TV or see it this afternoon on SBS.
