The Dakar Rally’s seventh stage, looping around Al Duwadimi, has become the focal point of heated debate following a controversial decision by the A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) to neutralize a 20km section of the stage due to a digital road book error. This move drastically altered the leaderboard and sparked fierce reactions from competitors and fans alike.
What Happened?
A navigational error in the road book at the 158km mark caused confusion for many competitors, who veered into the wrong valley while searching for a waypoint. Some teams, like Toyota’s Henk Lategan, managed to recover and find the waypoint by retracing their steps, while others lost significant time searching for the correct path. The organizers decided to nullify the affected section, returning the lost time to those who struggled.
The Fallout: Winners and Losers
Henk Lategan: “It’s Completely Unfair”
Lategan, who began the stage with a comfortable 7-minute lead, saw his advantage slashed to just 21 seconds over Overdrive Racing’s Yazeed Al Rajhi. The decision left Lategan frustrated, as he believed his and navigator Brett Cummings’ efforts to follow the road book correctly were undermined.
“We found the waypoint first because we went back to the previous instructions in the road book and followed them correctly,” said Lategan. “Everyone else had the same information. For them to cut that bit out is completely unfair.”
Lategan argued that the recalibration fundamentally altered their race strategy, which had been based on holding off their main rivals.
Yazeed Al Rajhi and Nasser Al-Attiyah: A Lifeline
The decision breathed new life into Al Rajhi’s campaign and bolstered Nasser Al-Attiyah’s chances of a podium finish. Al-Attiyah’s navigator, Edouard Boulanger, strongly supported the neutralization, arguing that the widespread confusion proved the road book’s inadequacy.
“If the organizers canceled the section before the stage ended, it means there was a genuine issue,” said Boulanger. “We didn’t make a mistake. The road book did.”
Al-Attiyah now sits just 22 minutes off the lead, reigniting his bid for a sixth Dakar title.
Nani Roma: “This Is Part of Rally Raid”
M-Sport Ford’s Nani Roma, a veteran of the Dakar, sided with Lategan, asserting that the challenging nature of rally raid involves navigating such uncertainties.
“Sometimes you gain, sometimes you lose. This is part of the game,” Roma remarked. “It’s not fair to cut this section; everyone had the same challenge.”
The Broader Implications
The recalibration of times has thrust M-Sport Ford’s Mattias Ekström back into contention, reducing his deficit to just 10 minutes, while Al Rajhi is now perfectly positioned to challenge for the lead. The decision has sparked questions about fairness and the integrity of the competition, with Toyota reportedly appealing the ruling.
Divided Reactions: A Never-Ending Debate
The controversy underscores the inherent unpredictability of the Dakar Rally, where navigation plays a pivotal role. On one hand, some believe that neutralizing the section ensures fairness when errors in the road book disadvantage competitors. On the other, critics argue that overcoming such challenges is integral to rally raid’s DNA.
Lategan’s sentiment captures the frustration of those who feel penalized by the decision:
“We drove a completely different race having found the waypoint first. It’s frustrating to have that effort disregarded.”
Boulanger’s counterpoint highlights the opposing perspective:
“Twelve cars got stuck in the same valley. That’s not a coincidence. It proves the road book was wrong.”
What’s Next?
As the rally heads deeper into the Empty Quarter, with five stages remaining, the recalibrated standings set the stage for a thrilling finale. The decision to neutralize Stage 7’s waypoint drama will continue to fuel debate, but for now, it has reshuffled the pack and intensified the battle for the Dakar throne.
Will Lategan regain his composure and hold on to the lead, or will Al Rajhi, Ekström, or Al-Attiyah capitalize on the controversy to write their own piece of Dakar history? Only time will tell.