Carlos Sainz takes his third Dakar Rally win, Al Attiyah and Peterhansel on podium 17.01.2020: DAKAR RALLY 2020 Saudi Arabia Stage 12 Link Special 374 km, Total 447 km Friday, January 17th 2020 2010, 2018 and 2020. Carlos Sainz will be feted in Qiddiya as the winner of this year's Dakar. Each of his three victories has come in a

DAKAR RALLY 2020
Saudi Arabia   Stage 12
Link  Special 374 km, Total 447 km
Friday, January 17th 2020






2010, 2018 and 2020. Carlos Sainz will be feted in Qiddiya as the winner of this year's Dakar. Each of his three victories has come in a different car (Volkswagen, Peugeot and Mini). The Spaniard, who claimed four stage wins along the way and beat Nasser Al-Attiyah by 6 minutes after 5,000 km of racing, he still needs to finish the link route and Qiddiya Grand Prix to make it official!




1:08 Al-Attiyah takes the finale

    Nasser Al-Attiyah has won the last special of the 2020 Dakar, leaving his first stage win to the very last day. Yasir Seaidan put in a solid performance to finish second at 1'32' and Orlando Terranova rounded off the top 3.
   


10:42 Terranova and Seaidan within a minute

    Nasser Al-Attiyah has already had time to congratulate Carlos Sainz at the finish, but Orlando Terranova and Yasir Seaidan are still pushing hard to snatch the stage win from the Qatari. The two drivers are within one minute of Toyota no. 300 at km 119.
   


  

 10:31 Al-Attiyah home and dry

    Nasser Al-Attiyah, the first driver to finish today's special, gained 3'56' on Stéphane Peterhansel and will therefore finish the 2020 Dakar in second place. The Frenchman will have to settle for third in his 31st Dakar.
  


 10:13 Seaidan looking to finish in style

    The leaders have already gone through km 119, but Yasir Seaidan is well positioned to fight for the win at km 69. The Saudi, who wants to shine on home turf one last time, was just 9 seconds slower than Al-Attiyah!
   


10:10 Al-Attiyah and Sainz hold on to their places

    Nasser Al-Attiyah is still leading the special by a sizeable margin over Stéphane Peterhansel at km 119, so his second place overall should be safe. Overall leader Carlos Sainz is taking no risks at 2 minutes back.
  


 09:51 Alonso on a good day

    Fernando Alonso has a shot at claim his first Dakar stage win. The Spaniard was only 25 seconds slower than Nasser Al-Attiyah at km 69, while Carlos Sainz is putting in a solid performance 1 minute behind the leader.
 


 09:46 Link route and Qiddiya Grand Prix

    The first bikers have entered the 120 km link route leading to the start of the Qiddiya Grand Prix, a 13 km timed sector reserved to competitors still in the race (i.e. not competing under Dakar Experience rules). The results do not count towards the classification of the Dakar, but tackling the Grand Prix is a requirement for anyone who wants to be on the final podium!
  


 09:41 Al-Attiyah catches Peterhansel!

    For Nasser Al-Attiyah, who started the last stage in second place overall with a wafer-thin 6-second lead over Stéphane Peterhansel, the best defence is a good offence. The Toyota driver is making a difference from the get-go and has caught his Mini rival after 69 km. Al-Attiyah can afford to ease up a bit, now that he is leading the special by over 3 minutes!


 
    07:11 Stage shortened

    Today's special has been shortened as a result of construction works at an oil facility near the course, leaving the competitors with 167 km to try and make the difference one last time.



    06:40 2 legends, 6 seconds

    Carlos Sainz, leading the general classification by 10 minutes, can almost taste his third Dakar win. Expect a no-holds-barred contest for the runner-up's spot between Nasser Al-Attiyah and Stéphane Peterhansel, with just six seconds separating the two at the start of the stage.



Retirements

    While all the competitors still in the race cross their fingers to finish the closing stage without running into trouble, others will not even be starting it, including biker Edwin Straver, car driver François Cousin and SSV rookies Ardid Viturro and Domingo Román Pardos.



    05:40 One more push

    Composure will be a trusted ally on this final stage, where the positions at the top of the classification can still change. The last hundred kilometres will give the navigators just as many headaches as in the previous week. But the finish line is not far! A 20 km special section, with no impact on the general classification, will also select the winner of the 'Qiddiyah Trophy', immediately before climbing onto the final podium.

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- ASO - also photo