Dakar 2024 – Stage 8: Audi doubles up, Sébastien Loeb loses time overall
Very much at ease yesterday, Sébastien Loeb lost ground today on the overall leader after a navigation error, in a stage dominated by Carlos Sainz's team-mates.
As there are only a few stages left before the arrival of the Dakar 2024, it continues to bring us surprises every day. After an impressive performance the day before, Sébastien Loeb is one of the big losers of the day in this stage leading the competitors from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il (678 kilometers, including 458 kilometers of special stage).
However, starting off with great speed but hindered by their position as the opening car, the duo Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin made a small navigation mistake in the second part of the stage, causing them to lose over five minutes to their overall rival Carlos Sainz. Being cautious, the Spaniard and his co-driver Lucas Cruz secured their position without taking any risks, and furthermore, they can rely on their teammates for the rest of the race.
Indeed, it was the two other Audi cars that dominated this 8th stage. Starting far behind in the rankings after his troubles the day before, Mattias Ekström wasted no time today as he secured his first stage victory in this Dakar. Second place, Stéphane Peterhansel also unleashed the horses and showed that even if reliability could still be an issue, the Audi RS Q e-tron is a formidable machine in the desert.
Regarding the headline acts, it is also worth noting the withdrawal of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel due to an engine failure. Always finishing in first or second place in the overall standings since the 2018 edition, the Franco-Qatari duo had not retired from a Dakar Rally since 2017 when the race was still taking place in South America.
After this 8th stage, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz have a lead of nearly twenty-five minutes in the overall standings over Sébastien Loeb, while the Frenchman seems quite alone facing three Audis to confront his former WRC rival. The truth of one day is never the same as the next on the Dakar, so anything is still possible for the nine-time world rally champion to finally win the greatest rally-raid in the world.
Ranking Stage 8
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Ekström / Bergkvist | Team Audi Sport | 03:17:15 |
| 2 | Peterhansel / Boulanger | Team Audi Sport | +00:02:45 |
| 3 | Chicherit / Winocq | Overdrive Racing | +00:03:10 |
| 4 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | +00:05:13 |
| 5 | Quintero / Zenz | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +00:07:52 |
Overall ranking
| Concurrents | Team | Times / Gaps | |
| 1 | Sainz / Cruz | Team Audi Sport | 33:29:10 |
| 2 | Loeb / Lurquin | Bahrain Raid Xtreme | +00:24:47 |
| 3 | Moraes / Monleon | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +01:05:13 |
| 4 | De Mevius / Panseri | Overdrive Racing | +01:34:18 |
| 5 | De Villiers / Murphy | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +01:45:12 |
