2020 Dakar Stage 9 ventured into Saudi Arabia’s rough, hard ‘Empty Quarter’. The competitors were timed on a 420 km section from Wadi Al-Dawasir to Haradh. The day consisted of a 400km of liaison before the stage started.
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Taking chances
Early in the 2020 Dakar Stage 9 it was the top three men in the standings who set the pace. Stéphane Peterhansel moved into the lead on the special after 104 km with his main rivals close behind. Local driver Yasir Seaidan was having a good day, just 45 seconds behind the stage leader.
With Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah battling for stage victory, Carlos Sainz lost 5 minutes to the after 156 km due to a flat tyre. Peterhansel continued his charge with Al-Attiyah in hot pursuit. After 300 km of racing the pair were separated by just 48 seconds. Seaidan was the only man able to set times similar to the leaders.
When the flag fell it was Peterhansel who won by a scant 15 seconds in front defending champ Nasser Al-Attiyah. Seaidan maintained his early pace to claim the final podium spot of the stage. When Carlos Sainz eventually crossed the line his overall rally lead was cut to a mere 24 seconds over Al-Attiyah. (See below for more detail) South African Giniel de Villiers finished stage 9 in eighth position, one place ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Click here for our Stage 8 report.
Other categories
Pablo Quintanilla enjoyed his best stage since the start of 2020 Dakar Rally to win the special. He lead home Toby Price. As a result, Quintanilla continues to put pressure on general standings leader Ricky Brabec, who managed to limit the damage by finishing less than 4 minutes behind the day’s winner.
- Sainz
- Al-Attiyah+ 24 sec
- Peterhansel +6 min 38 sec
- Al-Rajhi +32 min 25 sec
- Terranova +49 min 41 sec
- De Villiers +57 min 57 sec
- Ten Brinke +1 hr 08 min se59c
- Serradori +1 hr 24 min 20 sec
- Seaidan +2 hr 35min 35 sec
- Alonso +3 hr 17 min 23 sec
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