Dakar 2024 – Stage 4: First victory for Sébastien Loeb, Yazeed Al Rajhi still leading overall
Winner of his first stage in this Dakar 2024, Sébastien Loeb set the record straight after experiencing three flat tires the day before.
One day with, one day without. Sébastien Loeb’s Dakar 2024 resembles a giant roller coaster. Third during the prologue, struggling on the first and third stages, and second on the second stage, the Alsatian knows more than anyone that each day spent in the Saudi desert holds its share of surprises.
At the end of a solid day without any puncture to report for Hunter no. 203, Loeb and his co-pilot Fabian Lurquin finished ahead of the Toyota of the duo Al Rajhi/Gottschalk by just over a minute, and another Hunter, the one belonging to the defending champions Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, was a few seconds behind. The nine-time WRC world champion secures his 24th stage victory on the Dakar here.
More discreet stage for the Audi team with Carlos Sainz finishing in fourth place, five minutes behind, Stéphane Peterhansel in fifth place, six minutes behind, and Mattias Ekström in twelfth place, twelve minutes behind. “Monsieur Dakar” (referring to Stéphane Peterhansel) admitting a small navigation error that cost him a few seconds.
Disaster, on the other hand, for Guerlain Chicherit and Seth Quintero. The Frenchman fell victim to the power steering failure in his Toyota and lost over an hour compared to the winner of the day. It’s even worse for the American, whose broken engine in his Hilux forced him to wait for assistance to reach the bivouac several hours later.
At the end of this stage of 631 kilometers (299 of special) between Al Salamiya and Al-Hofuf, Yazeed Al Rajhi strengthens his position as the overall leader with over four minutes ahead of Carlos Sainz. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb make a great move as the Qatari takes the third place (+11’03”) and the Frenchman the sixth (+23’50”).
Stage 4 Ranking
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Loeb / Lurquin | Bahraïn Raid Xtreme | 03:36:02 |
| 2 | Al Rajhi / Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | +00:01:08 |
| 3 | Al-Attiyah / Baumel | Nasser Racing | +00:01:22 |
| 4 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | +00:05:08 |
| 5 | Peterhansel / Boulanger | Team Audi Sport | +00:05:59 |
Overall ranking
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Al Rajhi / Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | 15:44:39 |
| 2 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | +00:04:29 |
| 3 | Al-Attiyah / Baumel | Nasser Racing | +00:11:03 |
| 4 | Moraes / Monleon | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +00:19:31 |
| 5 | Ekström / Bergkvist | Team Audi Sport | +00:19:42 |
