Carlos Sainz added another jewel to his crown by claiming his fourth Dakar Rally victory, closing out his decisive triumph on Friday's brief 175km/109-mile loop course around Yanbu to the finish line.
After Mattias Ekström lost hope of a strong finish in this year's Dakar Rally when his Audi RS Q e-tron had a suspension failure on Sunday's seventh stage, the Swedish driver might have given up.
Thursday brought a new wrinkle to the Dakar Rally as the first of a two-day “48th Chrono” that throws some unprecedented challenges at the competitors.
Salving some of the frustrations of his slow start to this year’s Dakar Rally, Sebastien Loeb took his first stage win of the year on Tuesday’s fourth leg.