There was plenty of room to keep things interesting on this epic journey, especially in the 483 km timed section. Whether weaving through canyons, blasting through off-track stretches or tackling the heart of the dunes, entrants had to be a jack of all trades in this game. Nacho Cornejo —alert, inspired, nimble and focused— turned out to be a master of all trades, posting the fastest time of the day in the motorbike special. Meanwhile, Sébastien Loeb opened the road and never looked back, producing a virtuoso performance to clinch victory for the third time this year and crank up the heat on Carlos Sainz.
The closer we get to the denouement of the Dakar, the more it is shrouded in suspense. M. Night Shyamalan-esque plot twists are far from guaranteed, but the 2024 edition seems tailor-made for the unexpected. In the fight for the stage wins, Cornejo triumphing in Al Duwadimi was certainly no shocker. The Chilean has pulled off this feat nine times in his career, three this year, including last Sunday, when the race headed to Al Duwadimi from AlUla. He also moved back onto the increasingly unpredictable overall podium. First, Adrien Van Beveren got nudged out. He paid the price for opening the road but remains a force to be reckoned with at a reasonable 14′39″ from the lead. And, even more importantly, Ricky Brabec’s lead is hanging by a thread, with Ross Branch overcoming a failing front brake to stubbornly defend his chances and close in to just 1 second. The lively Rally 2 race validates this impression.
After Romain Dumontier in the Empty Quarter, today was Jean-Loup Lepan’s turn to lose the lead, thanks in no small part to a missed waypoint and the ensuing 15-minute penalty. As the tides of fate sweep in and out, it must be hard to feel safe even in one of the cuttingedge Ultimate cars. Today, Mattias Ekström got booted from the provisional podium, which is still dominated by Carlos Sainz, but for how long? Sébastien Loeb is a man on a mission to take the top spot: he bagged his third win of the season, much like Cornejo, and soared to second overall, 19 minutes from the summit. Although the Spaniard is a tough nut to crack, the approaching shadow of the nine-time world rally champion must be sending shivers down his spine.
“We had a good stage. No big mistakes. The navigation was really tricky. We were the first car, so… We had to make the line, but sometimes it’s better, because we were really concentrated on our job and I was pushing hard, trying to be very conscientious in the tricky navigation parts, and we did it very well.” – Sébastien Loeb
In these circumstances, Lucas Moraes, the second-fastest driver today and Loeb’s closest rival in the overall, can still entertain hopes of winning the rally if a little miracle happens along the way.
In the Challenger class, the disqualification of the Goczałs for breaching the FIA Technical Regulations gave Mitch Guthrie a clear run to the lead, with Cristina Gutiérrez and “Chaleco” López 33 and 40 minutes back, respectively. In SSV, João Ferreira won the stage as Xavier de Soultrait rose to the top of the pecking order. Finally, in the truck race, Martin Macík picked up his third stage win on the trot and extended his overall lead to an hour and a half over fellow Czech Aleš Loprais.
STAT OF THE DAY – 24
The motorbike field has covered 2,865 km since the 46th Dakar got under way. No-one has done it faster than Ricky Brabec, who has spent 32 h 37′20″ out there. And yet, after all this distance and all this time, Ross Branch is a single second behind him. This is the narrowest margin after eight specials since the Dakar first came to Saudi Arabia in 2020. To put this clash of titans into perspective, such a tiny gap after 32 h 37 of racing is tantamount to a distance of just over 24 metres, or 12 motorbikes strung together end to end. “Suspense” with a capital S.
