Al-Attiyah back in Dakar frame

– Five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah posted his first win of this year’s Dakar Rally yesterday, clocking the quickest time in the Empty Quarter dunes between Al-Hofuf and Shubaytah in Saudi Arabia.

The 53-year-old Qatari, driving for Prodrive, finished one minute and 51 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Guerlain Chicherit to claim his 48th stage win in the Dakar and moved second in the standings, gaining two minutes on cars leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi, who finished fourth behind Argentinian Juan Cruz Yacopini.

“There was no strategy on my part,” said Al-Attiyah who will now have to open the road at the start of the “48H chrono”, a new two-day stage across today and tomorrow.

“I wanted to win the stage no matter what they have in store for us tomorrow [today].

“It’s 600 kilometres long and I don’t mind opening the road. Even if I lose time, what matters to me is finishing these 600km.”

Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive) tried his luck by deliberately missing a compulsory checkpoint, a “mistake” that cost him a 15-minute penalty.

As a result, he finished 21 min 13sec down the order, giving up time in the overall standings in the hope of optimising his chances in the “48H Chrono” by starting from behind.

Ross Branch (above) reclaimed the lead in the bikes category after Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla dominated the dunes to win stage five.

On a short 118km special stage, Quintanilla was pushed all the way as he completed his seventh Dakar stage win, beating his Honda team-mate Adrien Van Beveren by just 37 seconds.

“After two awful days, everything fell into place,” said Quintanilla.

“I went flat-out. It wasn’t easy because the glare of the sun made it hard to see the tracks but I went 100% from the first kilometre.

“It was tough, but I managed to set a fast pace and had a great stage.

“I wasn’t expecting this type of soft sand because I heard it had rained in the last few days, but I had fun anyway. I had a great time on my bike.”

Two-time winner Toby Price (KTM) completed the podium at one min 39sec.

Honda’s other Chilean Ignacio Cornejo had a difficult day in the saddle and finished six min 11 sec down on his compatriot.

This allowed Botswana’s Branch, who came sixth, to claim the overall lead. –