In Stage 8, riders and drivers will go from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il. The start of the day will probably be easier – if that is an allowed word in the Dakar Rally – as the competitors will travel through the sand.
In the second part of the stage, stones are set to become the protagonists, making the terrain very unpredictable and hard to travel on. The participants will have to find the right receipt between fast and gentle, to avoid crashes, punctures, and mechanical problems.
Bikes
Kevin Benavides was the stage winner, ahead of his brother Luciano by just 31 seconds. Adrien Van Beveren completed the top three, just 1′ 27″ behind.
In the general standings, Ricky Brabec is the leader, with Ross Branch and Nacho Cornejo 42 seconds and 4′ 21″ further back.
It was not an easy race for the two brothers, as they were only fourth and fifth after 111 km. Meanwhile, Brabec was comfortably leading the stage. He did that until km 406, where he was overtaken by Van Beveren.
The latter seemed to be able to keep the lead until the very end, but Kevin Benavides gained time in the last kilometers. That allowed him to clinch the victory for Stage 8.
Quads
Manuel Andujar won Stage 8 in the quads. He beat Alexandre Giroud by 5′ 06″ and Juraj Varga by 15′ 39″. In the general standings, the top three is the same as the stage’s one, with Andujar leading by 11′ 26″ and 2 hours 43′ 25″.
Initially, it was Giroud who had the lead of the stage, with Andujar following not far behind. However, at km 406, Andujar overtook the Frenchman, who even lost quite some time. Due to that, Giroud was not able to gain the lead back and only finished second.
Cars
Mattias Ekström was the winner of Stage 8. He was in front of Peterhansel and Chicherit by 2′ 45″ and 3′ 10″. Carlos Sainz is still the leader of the general standings, 24′ 47″ ahead of Sebastien Loeb and 1 hour 05′ 13″ in front of Lucas Moraes.
The stage did not start in the best way possible for Loeb, who had to stop for some issues after just 39 km. It was probably a puncture, but luckily for him, he did not lose much time.
Nasser Al Attiyah also encountered issues at km 62. After being unable to resume the stage for a long time, it seemed that the issue was an engine problem.
Meanwhile, the battle was close at the front, with Loeb, Sainz, and Ekström all close to each other in terms of timing. Then, after 406 km, Loeb lost around 10′ to Ekström (the new leader), probably due to a navigation mistake. Sainz only managed to finish fourth, but his result was good enough to extend his lead in the standings.