Dakar 2023: the funny victory of Sébastien Loeb on the 8th stage

This is a victory with a particular taste for Sébastien Loeb.

Second at the finish of the eighth stage of the Dakar, linking Al-Duwadimi to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia this Sunday, the Frenchman was finally awarded the final victory thanks to the penalty inflicted on Carlos Sainz.

After a long battle between the two drivers, the Spaniard came out on top, before being penalized for… speeding in a zone limited to 30 km/h.

This five-minute penalty cost him the stage victory, and offered it to Sébastien Loeb.

🚗 The Stage 8⃣ winner was @SebastienLoeb after Carlos Sainz was given a five minute penalty for speeding in a 30 km/h area.

Ahead of Monday's rest day @AlAttiyahN retains an overall lead of more than one hour.

Full results and standings 👉https://t.co/cx02oSZAcp#Dakar2023 pic.twitter.com/OjqwLBSFkx

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 8, 2023

On the eve of the rest day, the Alsatian from the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team therefore won the eighth stage of the Dakar 2023, with a 2′11′ lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah.

At the wheel of his hybrid Audi, Carlos Sainz finally finished 3′31 from the lead.

Al-Attiyah alone in the lead in the cars

With this success at the end of the 822 km of the day, Sébastien Loeb celebrates his 18th career stage victory.

But the nine-time world rally champion remains behind in the general classification, 1 hour and 52 minutes behind leader and favorite Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Behind the Qatari, the South African Henk Lategan is 1 hour and 3 minutes behind, slightly ahead of the Brazilian Lucas Moraes, who is 1 hour and 20 minutes behind Nasser Al-Attiyah.

On the French side, after Sébastien Loeb, fourth, Romain Dumas monopolizes sixth place in the car classification.

In the motorcycles, the Northerner Adrien Van Beveren temporarily occupies sixth place, 2′49″ behind the American leader Skyler Howes.

The drivers will rest on Monday, and will be back on the road the next day, January 10.

The second week of racing will end on January 15, with the final finish in Dammam, in eastern Saudi Arabia.