2020 Dakar Stage 6 delivered a dramatic change of scenery. The massive special stage from Hail to Riyadh consisted entirely of sand with no tracks. Competitiors had to deal with a 353 km open section followed by 477 km of racing. A relatively fast first section was followed by dunes. Drivers who previously honed their driving skills in the Sahara Desert had the upper hand. Dakar 2020 Stage 6 was the last day of racing before the event’s traditional halfway break.

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Sad exits

2020 Dakar Stage 6 lasted four kilometres for Texan Bobby Patton. The co-owner of the Los Angeles baseball team has crashed and rolled his Toyota Hilux, leaving his co-pilot with back and torso injuries, meaning it is the end of the road on his first Dakar. Dakar rookie Edvinas Juškauskas exited his first event in the worst way possible. He watched as his Toyota Hilux went up in flames after 243 km of the special.

On the road, the leaders were trading blows all morning. Stephane Peterhansel, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Yazeed Al Rajhi and Carlos Sainz were covered by a matter of seconds in the early part of the stage. In the end it was Stéphane Peterhansel who held off his rivals to win by 1 min 35 sec ahead of Carlos Sainz and 3 min 22 sec ahead of Al-Attiyah. Al Rahji was fourth with Giniel de Villiers in eighth.

Sainz extends his lead in the general standings over Al-Attiyah. Thanks to his efforts today, Peterhansel has managed to close the gap to the leaders. De Villiers still lies seventh in the general standings. See below for more

Click here for our Stage 5 report.

Other categories

Ricky Brabec has grabbed his second stage victory since the start in Jeddah, finishing 1 min 34 sec in front of Joan Barreda. This is a major boost for the American how now finds himself alone at the top of the general standings.

  1. Sainz
  2. Al-Attiyah+7 min 46 sec
  3. Peterhansel +16 min 18 sec
  4. Al-Rajhi +36 min 46 sec
  5. Terranova +43 min 52 sec
  6. Serradori +50 min 19 sec
  7. De Villiers +55 min 39 sec
  8. Ten Brinke +1 hr 12 min 56 sec
  9. Seaidan +2 hr 00 min 09 sec
  10. Vanagas +2 hr 38 24 sec