Al-Rajhi wins maiden Dakar Rally stage
Yazeed Al-Rajhi won his first Dakar Rally stage on Sunday as he clinched stage eight between Uyuni and Iquique.
The Saudi driver is competing in the event for the first time and had impressive in the opening seven stages before eventually getting off the mark.
Al-Rajhi finished the 808-kilometre stage in three hours, 26 minutes and 49 seconds – ensuring Toyota of its first stage win in this year’s rally.
It was also enough to put him clear of stage seven winner Orlando Terranova and overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah.
The Mini duo could only record times of 3:28:01 and 3:29:25 hours respectively, with Al-Ittiyah’s lead now standing at eight minutes, 27 seconds from Giniel De Villiers.
The South African was able to trim Olympic bronze medal shooter Al-Ittiyah’s lead on Saturday but failed to build on it on the way to Iquique.
De Villers could only muster a fourth-place finish, finish a place ahead of Krzysztof Hołowczyc who completed the top five, with the Toyota man left to rue a poor showing on the dunes.
Only 13 seconds separated the two in the end but it could have been much more positve for De Villiers had he negotiated the dunes better.
Al-Rajhi said afterwards: “Today was a good day. We drove fast and we had fun.
“We didn’t have the highest top speed, but we managed to catch up with the others. It was a bit like a game.”
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