The third stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally saw a new stage winner and a reshufffle of the leaderboard. Read more about the stage here. 2024 Dakar stage 4 was a 299 km timed special from Al Salamiya to Al-Hofuf. The terrain was not as rough as the previous day, which meant more wide open throttle sections.

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A Maiden Win

Lucas Moraes (Toyota) wrote his name in the Dakar history books by taking his maiden win the car category. The Brazilian held off all comers to win the third stage by a slender margin. His efforts meant that he opened the way for his rivals today, which ultimately cost him time. He fell back on the timesheets early in the day.

A Flyer

BRX teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sebastien Loeb came flying out the blocks to set the quickest times through many of the checkpoints on 2024 Dakar stage 4. The pair are trying to make up time that they lost on the opening day due to multiple punctures. In fact, Al-Attiyah suffered another three punctures on stage three, so he drove the last 30 km of the timed section on three wheels. But the Qatari showed why he is a multiple race winner, by never giving up.

Click here to learn more about the SA-built Hilux race machine.

Saudi drive Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota) was keeping pace with the BRX duo ahead. He was slightly quicker than the Audi pair of Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel. American Seth Quintero (Toyota) who was quick early in the stage suffered a mechanical failure that meant he had to stop to wait for assistance. Mathieu Serradori in the SA-built CR6-T had a great run as the highest placed 2WD vehicle today.

First Stage Win for ’24

Despite his hot pace throughout the stage, Al-Attiyah was denied his first stage win of the 2024 race. That honour went to his teammate Loeb. The Frenchman turned up the pace in the last section of the stage to claim his first stage win this year and 24th ever. Loeb’s average speed over the stage was a whisker under 115 km/h…

Al-Rajhi had another great stage taking second place ahead of Al-Attiyah. The Audi of Sainz was 4th ahead of Guillaume de Mevius (Overdrive Toyota). The top-finishing SA driver was Guy Botterill (Toyota Gazoo Racing) in 16th a few places ahead of his experienced teammate Giniel de Villiers.

Climbing the Board

Al-Rajhi maintains his lead in the overall classification. In fact, he has opened up a four-minute gap over Sainz. Al-Attiyah’s pace today moves him up from 5th to 3rd with Loeb also gaining a few positions. De Villiers is the top-placed SA driver in the overall standings, in 11th with Botterill in 12th.

Overall Standings after 2024 Dakar Stage 4

  1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota) 15 hr 44 min 39 sec
  2. Carlos Sainz (Audi) +4 min 19 sec
  3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (BRX) +11 min 03 sec
  4. Mattias Ekstrom (Audi) +17 min 42 sec
  5. Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +19 min 31 sec
  6. Sebastien Loeb (BRX)  +23 min 50 sec
  7. Mathieu Serradori (CRT) +24 min 20 sec
  8. Stephane Peterhansel (Audi) +26 min 56 sec
  9. Vaidotas Zala (X-Raid) +32 min 42 sec
  10. Guillaume de Mevius (Overdrive Toyota) +38 min 43 sec