There is a lot to tell in the tenth stage of the Dakar 2024 in cars. It was a difficult stage for the top two in the overall classification, who nevertheless remain well ahead of the competition, while in the fight for the final victory Sébastien Loeb approached leader Carlos Sainz. Guerlain Chicherit was the fastest in the stage.
At kilometer 248, Sainz (Audi) was stopped for over ten minutes, with problems in his car, being helped by his colleagues Mattias Ekström and Stéphane Peterhansel. It was a golden opportunity for Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme/Prodrive Hunter) to significantly approach the top of the overall standings… but the Frenchman also had setbacks that forced him to stop for about five minutes around kilometer 300.
Immune to major problems, Chicherit (Overdrive Racing/Toyota) delivered a dominant performance and won the stage with a clear 5m43s margin over Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing Factory Team). Benediktas Vanagas (Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics) also had a good performance, finishing third, 6m04s behind. On the road, Eugenio Amos (Overdrive Racing/Toyota) was second, but a two-minute penalty dropped him to fourth. Romain Dumas (Rebellion Racing/Prodrive Hunter) completed the top five of the day. Loeb finished 16th and Sainz, who finished with almost no operational tires, was 25th.
All in all, the Spanish driver conceded more than seven minutes to Loeb. He remains at the top of the overall standings, but now with only a 13m22s advantage over his rival. Lucas Moraes (Toyota) remains in third, more than an hour behind the leader, followed by two Toyotas from Overdrive Racing: Guillaume de Mevius and Chicherit.
Top ten of Stage 10:
Top ten overall:
