Summarize

South African Gazoo Toyota Hilux crew Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings opened their overall lead to ten minutes over the duelling Swedes Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist’s Ford Raptor and Saudi home hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk in their Hilux as Dakar reached its midway rest day on Thursday afternoon.

Qatari Dakar legend Nasser Al-Attiyah and Frenchman Edouard Boulanger however delivered a dominant performance as they took ten minutes out of the field aboard their Dacia Sandrider to cut their overall deficit to leader Lategan to 25 minutes on Thursday, as they finished ahead of Ekstrom, Lategan and Al Rajhi.

The 428 kilometre stage ran over a mix of dirt, gravel and sand from the Marathon overnight bivouac at Al Ula to Ha’il, deep in the Saudi desert for the rest day of Friday. News from the bivouac was that former bike winners, Aussie Toby Price and Brit Sam Sunderland made the start after sorting their Hilux with a little help from their friends and rivals following major Wednesday issues. 

On track meantime, four different carmakers filled the top four at the day’s first waypoint. French Mini duo Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq, Al-Attiyah, Ekström and South Africans Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy in their Toyota Gazoo Hilux then traded the lead as they went in a close dice up front.

Overall leader Lategan climbed up the top ten, bringing Al-Rajhi with. Lategan was soon at the front. Until Al Attiyah went on the offensive leaving Henk to tussle with Ekstrom and Rajhi for second. Attiyah piled on the pressure to draw away from the Toyota and Ford, both of which appeared content to pace each other with Al Rajhi keeping a watching brief.

Attiyah duly stormed home for a monster ten minute win. Running well back, American Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz’s Gazoo Hilux popped up in second ahead of Ekstrom, with Lategan right on his tail and Al Rajhi a few minutes back. Toyota’s Brazilian charger Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon and South African Saood Variawa and Frenchman Francois Cazalet’s Gazoo Hilux came from behind to beat US youngster Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch’s Ford Raptor.

French crew, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s South African Century CR7 followed in ninth. Other South African crews, Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer Century CR7, and Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux were in the top 20 ahead of Daniel Schröder and South African Henry Köhne’s small budget WCT Amarok. Giniel de Villiers lost an hour when he ran out of spare tyres. 

Overall. Lategan leads Al Rajhi by ten minutes with Ekstrom a close third from Attiyah and Moraes and Serradori’s Century a fine seventh. Dakar Competitors will now chill on Friday’s rest day before a monster 605 kilometre run to Al Duwadimi on Saturday.