Peterhansel heading for 14th Dakar title
MOTORSPORT
FRENCH veteran Stephane Peterhansel was heading for a recordextending 14th Dakar title after ending yesterday’s 10th stage in Saudi Arabia with a 17min advantage over his closest rival, Nasser AlAttiyah.
However, while he maintained his comfortable lead in the car category, overnight motorcycle leader Jose
Ignacio Cornejo’s dreams evaporated when he crashed and had to retire on medical grounds with two stages to go.
That left what looked like a straight fight between defending champion Ricky Brabec of the United States and his Argentine Honda teammate Kevin Benavides.
Xraid Mini driver Peterhansel was third in the 342km stage from Neom to AlUla, behind Qatar's AlAttiyah in second and Saudi winner Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Defending car champion Carlos Sainz remained third overall but more than an hour off the lead.
The rally ends in Jeddah today.
Cornejo crashed his Honda at the 252km mark of the stage but managed to finish before a medical examination ruled out any further involvement due to the risk of concussion.
The Chilean had been 11min ahead at the start of the day.
Brabec won the stage and is now 51sec behind Benavides. Britain’s Sam Sunderland is third on a KTM but 10min 36sec off the lead. — Reuters