Dakar 2023 – Stage 14: The special for Chicherit, the title for Al-Attiyah
Nasser Al-Attiyah won the Dakar 2023 after the final stage between Al-Hofuf and Dammam. The Qatari and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel thus retain their title in this competition.
The curtain has fallen on the Dakar 2023. For this final stage, 136 kilometers of special were on the agenda for the competitors who managed to overcome the pitfalls of this edition, widely regarded as very challenging by the general consensus in the bivouac. In this fourteenth and last stage, Guerlain Chicherit took victory for the second time in this Dakar. He finished ahead of Matthias Ekström, once again at the forefront in his Audi, and the surprising Argentine Sebastian Halpern in a Mini.
For the first time since 2017, the title holder has managed to retain their title. Indeed, it is the team of Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel who have won for the second consecutive time behind the wheel of their Toyota Hilux. This is actually their fourth title together, after winning in 2015 with Mini, and then in 2019 and 2022 with Toyota. Al-Attiyah had first won the Dakar in 2011 with Volkswagen alongside Timo Gottschalk. With this fifth victory in the world’s largest rally-raid, the occasional WRC competitor now only has Stéphane Peterhansel ahead of him in terms of titles in the Cars category.
In second place overall, we find Sébastien Loeb’s BRX. After a fantastic comeback in the second week of the competition, the Frenchman fails for the second time in a row to secure the second step of the podium. During this 2023 edition, Loeb took the opportunity to break the record for the number of consecutive stage victories with six consecutive successes. Without the issues he encountered at the beginning of the competition, the nine-time rally world champion would certainly have been able to compete with Al-Attiyah for the final victory.
On the third step, it’s the surprising Brazilian Lucas Moraes, also on a Toyota, who can open the champagne. Revelation of this edition, the Overdrive driver sets a meeting point for the future. Author of an almost flawless performance during the two weeks of the race, his duo with the experienced Timo Gottschalk, once again, worked perfectly. A good omen for the upcoming editions.
So mark your calendars for next year for a Dakar 2024 that already promises to be another great vintage. With Toyotas more in top form than ever, vengeful Audis, and ambitious young wolves, we are already looking forward to January next year!
Ranking Stage 14
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Chicherit / Winocq | GCK Motorsport | 01:09:24 |
| 2 | Ekström / Bergkvist | Team Audi Sport | +00:01:36 |
| 3 | Halpern / Graue | X-Raid Mini JCW Team | +00:01:53 |
| 4 | Przygonski / Monleon | X-Raid Mini JCW Team | +00:03:08 |
| 5 | Lategan / Cummings | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +00:03:44 |
General ranking
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Al-Attiyah / Baumel | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 45:03:15 |
| 2 | Loeb / Lurquin | Bahrain Raid Xtreme | +01:20:49 |
| 3 | Moraes / Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | +01:38:31 |
| 4 | De Villiers / Murphy | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +02:31:12 |
| 5 | Lategan / Cummings | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +02:36:23 |
