Doha: The duel between Mini’s Carlos Sainz and Toyota’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah was rekindled in explosive fashion on the opening Baqqa selective section of Hail Baja 2 yesterday.
The triple Dakar winners continued the fight for supremacy that they had begun at the fourth round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas last weekend. The Spaniard and co-driver Lucas Cruz moved in front of their rival after around one third of the day’s 311.57km stage - after the Toyota Hilux driver stopped to change a puncture - and went on to win the special by 2min 20sec.
Sainz’s stage win deprived Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel of half a point, as they try and hunt down Russian Vladimir Vasilyev (Mini) and Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota) to snatch the FIA Baja title. But second place was sufficient for Al Attiyah to claim one bonus point for his runner-up spot.
“Today was a good run but we had two flat tyres (one wheel off rim) and we stopped and we changed,” said Al Attiyah.
“We lose more than four minutes. After that, we came to the finish and we are only 2min 20sec to Carlos. It is okay. Today we tested the new tyres for Dakar. We need to have more experience of these tyres.”
Stage winner Sainz said: “It was okay, no problems. Some sandy tracks and some small dunes and fast sections. We keep trying different things, but all is okay.”
Sainz’s team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel pipped early stage leader Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota) to the third fastest time and a late surge pushed Vasilyev into fifth spot, with Ten Brinke slipping behind his Overdrive Toyota team-mate Jakub Przygonski into seventh after a late puncture.
Peterhansel said: “It was again an interesting day. The end was a little bit fast. The navigation was not too easy. We continue to do testing and training. It is a very good opportunity to be here.”
Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com