Dakar 48h stage top two, Sainz and Loeb all hit with penalties

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Nasser Al-Attiyah have been handed penalties by the FIA for exceeding permitted speed limits after finishing first and second in stage two of the Dakar Rally.

Speed limits are dictated during non-timed liaison running, and stage winner Al-Rajhi was given a two-minute penalty for breaching the limit. The Toyota privateer keeps his victory but drops further behind overall classification leader Henk Lategan, the gap now at 4m45s.

Al-Attiyah was also guilty of speeding in his Dacia, though he was given a four-minute penalty, further boosting Lategan’s standing in the overall standings. The penalty also means the Toyota driver took second in the stage, with the Qatari dropping to third.

Carlos Sainz endured a miserable second stage in his Ford Raptor and a two-minute penalty only compounded his issues.

Sainz rolled over in a crash on day one of the endurance stage, which triggered back pain; although he was able to return to the bivouac and stay in the rally, a puncture and navigational issues have left the four-time winner way down the order, over an hour and a half off Lategan’s lead.

“I want to recover, both emotionally and physically, and try to help the team – and if I can win a stage, all the better,” Sainz told select media including Autosport.

“My back hurts a bit, it’s a bit sore, but I don’t think there’s anything out of the ordinary, just the blow.”

Sebastien Loeb’s hopes were also dented as his Dacia was hit by fan issues on the first day of the stage, though repairs were able to keep him in the top 10 for the stage to minimise the time lost.

Whilst the Frenchman was also penalised by the FIA, he was only docked 10 seconds, meaning he stays sixth in the classification, 18m56s off the lead.

Lategan takes his 4m45s lead over Al-Rajhi and Al-Attiyah [11m14s] into stage three, which will take in 495km of timed running and 352km of untimed travel from the Bisha bivouac to Al Henakiyah.