In the third attempt, Audi finally says goodbye to the Dakar with the long-awaited victory. It was achieved by Carlos Sainz, in a historic result on several levels: the first absolute triumph of a hybrid car and the fourth for the driver with as many constructors.
The last stage took place this Friday. The Spaniard had a solid overall lead, mainly needing to finish without any mishaps – which he successfully did. Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme/Prodrive Hunter), who was practically out of contention due to yesterday’s problems, was the fastest of the day, beating Guillaume de Mevius (Overdrive Racing/Toyota) by 5m09s. Vaidotas Zala, navigated by Portuguese Paulo Fiúza in a MINI from the X-Raid Arijus Team, finished third, 5m21s behind.
The duo benefited from the ten-second penalty imposed on Guerlain Chicherit (Overdrive Racing/Toyota), who finished fourth. The top five of the stage was completed by Krzysztof Holowczyc (X-Raid MINI JCW Team). Sainz did not take any major risks and finished 17th, 10m50s behind Loeb.
In the final overall classification, the Spaniard sealed the victory with a 1h20m25s advantage over de Mevius, while Loeb finished third, adding another podium to his Dakar record. Chicherit finished fourth and Martin Prokop took the Ford from the Orlen Jipocar Team to fifth. Guy David Botterill not only was the best factory Toyota driver but also the best rookie, finishing in sixth place.
Top ten of Stage 12:
Final top ten:
