Loeb powers his BRX to Dakar Rally record
French driver makes it six in-a-row; Al Attiyah closes in on fifth title
Sebastien Loeb took Bahrain Raid Xtreme to a remarkable new Dakar Rally record yesterday when he secured a sixth successive stage victory in Saudi Arabia.
With another stunning performance in their BRX Prodrive Hunter, Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin eclipsed the previous best run of five Dakar stage wins in a row set by Ari Vatanen during the original African based Paris-Dakar in 1989. The ninetime World Rally champion was once again in irresistible form among the dunes of the Empty Quarter as he convincingly won the 154km penultimate stage of the rally from Shaybah to Al-Hofuf by 5 mins 28 secs from overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah.
Loeb’s dominance over the last six days, underlining the power and all-round capability of the BRX Prodrive Hunter in hostile desert conditions, has put him within reach of a second consecutive Dakar runner-up finish in Dammam today.
It might have been even better but for a flurry of punctures and other setbacks last week, with Al Attiyah, who collected a one minute penalty yesterday, now leading by 1hr 21 mins 42 secs in his Toyota and on the verge of his fifth Dakar triumph. Loeb’s seventh stage success overall in this year’s event, the eighth for the Prodrive Hunters following Guerlain Chicherit’s earlier win, gave him an advantage of 14 mins 8 secs over the Toyota of Brazil’s Lucas Moraes in third place.
Running on biofuel
It was also another huge endorsement for the BRX drive towards alternative motorsport solutions. The cars have tackled the world’s toughest motorsport race running on Prodrive EcoPower biofuel, which produces 80 per cent less CO2 than petrol, setting the trend for other teams to follow. Chicherit and Alex Winocq set the eighth fastest time yesterday in their Prodrive Hunter, and provisional 11th place overall, given a series of earlier misfortunes, belies the quality shown by the Rally du Maroc winners of three months ago.