Dakar 2024 – Stage 6b: Sébastien Loeb wins ahead of two Audis
At the end of the stage called "48 Hours Chrono" held over two days, the nine-time world rally champion achieved the best time, while Nasser Al-Attiyah lost all chances of victory.
He had attempted a daring gamble two days ago to avoid opening the road during the 781 kilometers (572 special) planned for the 6th stage. Sébastien Loeb wanted to start far back to follow the tracks left in front of him, and it turned out well for him. The Frenchman and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin won their second stage on this Dakar 2024 behind the wheel of their Prodrive Hunter.
Confident last night after swallowing kilometers of sand dunes, the Alsatian driver further solidified his lead today, surpassing the Audi teams of Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and Matthias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist. Feeling very comfortable in the Empty Quarter, the Spanish and Swedish duos took the overall lead, leaving today’s winner trailing by half an hour behind Sainz. However, his hopes for ultimate victory remain intact.
On these two stages, several favorites have bid farewell to their ambitions on this 2024 edition. After Yazeed Al Rajhi and Stéphane Peterhansel yesterday, it is the two-time defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah who was stuck on the track for a long time after damaging the hub of his left front wheel. Rescued by another Hunter, the Qatari and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel were able to reach the finish line with nearly three hours of delay.
This second part of the “48 Hours Chrono” stage marks the end of the first part of this Dakar. It’s now time for a very long liaison to Riyadh for the rest day scheduled tomorrow. With a twenty-minute lead over Matthias Ekström and about thirty minutes over Sébastien Loeb in the general classification, Carlos Sainz now has several cards in hand to become a four-time winner of the Dakar. However, caution is still necessary as there are numerous traps on the road to Yanbu and in rally-raid, more than anywhere else, nothing is secured until the checkered flag is waved.
Ranking Stage 6
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Loeb / Lurquin | Bahraïn Raid Xtreme | 07:21:56 |
| 2 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | +00:02:01 |
| 3 | Ekström / Bergkvist | Team Audi Sport | +00:10:55 |
| 4 | Moraes / Monleon | Overdrive Racing | +00:22:45 |
| 5 | Goczal / Mena | Energylandia Rally Team | +00:28:48 |
General ranking
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | 24:59:32 |
| 2 | Ekström / Bergkvist | Team Audi Sport | +00:20:21 |
| 3 | Loeb / Lurquin | Bahraïn Raid Xtreme | +00:29:31 |
| 4 | Moraes / Monleon | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +01:04:00 |
| 5 | De Mevius / Panseri | Overdrive Racing | +01:09:47 |
