2020 Dakar Stage 10 was a 534-km marathon that sent, drivers and crews out into the vast off-piste expanses of Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter. The last 30 kilometres consisted entirely of dunes. At the end of the stage only assistance between competitors is authorised.

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Roly-poly

There was drama early in the 2020 Dakar Stage 10 as Fernando Alonso put his Toyota Hilux into a double roll within the first few kilometres. The Spanish took a dune a little took quickly at an awkward angle and sent his car side-over-side. He was able to continue but the incident cost him an hour.

Lost in translation

Overall rally leader Carlos Sainz started the stage at a fast pace and led Nasser Al-Attiyah by almost one minute after 87 km. Stéphane Peterhansel trailed the Spaniard by 2 minutes, just behind Yazeed Al Rajhi. Tricky navigation after 200 km caught out several competitors, including Peterhansel who lost almost 12 minutes to Carlos Sainz who chose the right direction. The situation was even worse for Nasser Al-Attiyah who lost 17 minutes looking for the checkpoints in the stage.

There were several incidents today, which results in 2020 Dakar Stage 10 being halted. A lack of safety crews to help teams and deterioration of weather conditions led the race directors to abandon the stage after 345 km. The competitors from all the categories made their way to the overnight stop in convoy.

Following the halt to the special it was Carlos Sainz who was awarded the stage win in front of Jakub Przygoński and Giniel de Villiers. Thanks to Peterhansel’s and Al-Attiyah’s navigation problems Sainz increased his lead in the general standings to 18 minutes over his two rivals.

Click here for our Stage 9 report.

Other categories

Joan Barreda improved his form with a stage win today in Shubaytah. With a second-place finish, Ricky Brabec has again increased his lead in the general standings over his main rivals. The Honda rider now leads Pablo Quintanilla by 25 minutes and Joan Barreda by 27 minutes.

  1. Sainz
  2. Al-Attiyah+ 18 min 10 sec
  3. Peterhansel +18 min 26 sec
  4. Al-Rajhi +40 min 46 sec
  5. Terranova +57 min 39 sec
  6. De Villiers +1 hr 02 min 23 sec
  7. Ten Brinke +1 hr 15 min 39 sec
  8. Serradori +1 hr 37 min 21 sec
  9. Seaidan +2 hr 49 min 28 sec
  10. Lachaume +3 hr 28 min 16 sec