2024-01-15 05:56:00
We knew that the second half of the 2024 Dakar was going to be rich in drama, all with a perfect poster for a Hitchcockian scenario. On the one hand, Audis act as colossi with feet of clay, as their speed can sometimes be undermined by hazardous reliability. On the other, an English Hunter driven by a nine-time WRC world champion but which is not immune to a problem.
Thus, the stage was set and it did not take long before a first alert sounded. From the start of the special, an Audi found itself stranded. “Our suspension failed,” complains Mattias Ekström, rescued by his teammate Stéphane Peterhansel. We had to wait over two hours. Of course, this is very disappointing. After 30 km, my co-pilot Emil and I had the impression that something had given way. We heard ‘Klak, klak, klak, klak’. Then later we had a slow puncture and the suspension was grinding on the rim. Well, life goes on.”
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The gap in the general classification was half an hour at the start of the day, it had to be reduced now.
Until Sunday morning, Audi had the advantage in numbers. Now it’s one-on-one. Two of the three RSQ e-trons have been undermined by the problems and the third, in the lead, now has a sword of Damocles hanging over the roof.
Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin understood that well. The Alsatian praised his Belgian co-pilot like never before, who did an incredible job of navigation to achieve a stage victory which might prove decisive from a sporting and moral point of view. “We came close to perfection this Sunday,” exults Loeb. I needed to keep the pressure on, which I tried to do. The gap in the general classification was half an hour at the start of the day, it had to be reduced now. Navigation was really difficult. But we only lost three minutes while the others lost much more. I put out a big attack throughout the special.”
Loeb and Lurquin are now 19 minutes behind Carlos Sainz. The Matador can feel the breath of the Prodrive crew on the back of his neck. “Seb has nothing to lose,” admits the Audi driver. He wants to win the Dakar. It’s a rally where, if you take a risk and go fast, you can save a lot of time. I can only congratulate him and this Monday we will try to do our best to resist him.”
Without doubt, the fable of the desert hare and the tortoise just began in Arabia.
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