RIYADH: Nasser Al-Attiyah, driving a Dacia, retained second place overall at the 48th Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia after a demanding fifth stage of the marathon on Thursday.
The Qatari, chasing a record-extending sixth Dakar title, finished 16th on the stage, which was dominated by the Ford Raptor as it swept the top three positions. Al-Attiyah crossed the line 12 minutes and five seconds behind stage winner Mitch Guthrie of the United States and received a two-minute penalty, but remained firmly in contention in the general classification.
For the first time in this year’s rally, the overall standings remained unchanged. South Africa’s Henk Lategan, driving a Toyota, became the first competitor to lead the rally for two consecutive stages, despite finishing 17th on the day, nearly 13 minutes adrift of Guthrie. Lategan holds a slim advantage of three minutes and 17 seconds over Al-Attiyah.
Guthrie claimed his second stage win of this edition after also winning stage three, finishing one minute and six seconds ahead of teammates Nani Roma of Spain and Czech driver Martin Prokop, benefiting from a time penalty handed to Roma.
The sixth stage on Friday will be the longest of the rally, covering 920 kilometres from Hail to Riyadh, including 331 kilometres against the clock.
