Sainz holds off car rivals for third Dakar Rally title in Saudi Arabia

Sainz holds off car rivals for third Dakar Rally title in Saudi Arabia posted: 18/01/2020

Casale and Karginov also win categories as Australian Price grabs bike podium

Carlos Sainz held his nerve on the final stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally for his third title after 7,500km of the worlds most fearsome offroad race, while Ignacio Casale and Andrey Karginov also won at the maiden Saudi Arabia staging.

Here is all you need to know:

- Sainz had car rivals Nasser Al-Attiyah and St phane Peterhansel waiting to pounce on any error during the 374km special stage to the Qiddiya finish from Haradh.

- Qatars Al-Attiyah won the last stage, however it was not enough to overhaul the 10-minute lead the Spaniard had built up over the previous 11 stages.

Francisco Chaleco Lopez

- Sainz and navigator Lucas Cruz finished sixth on the day to put them 6m 21s ahead of Toyota driver Al-Attiyah and seal a third Dakar title after Sainzs 2010 and 2018 wins.

- El Matador revealed: It makes the victory even nicer when the battle is so tough. On top of that I win in a third different car - Im very proud of that.

- Frenchman Peterhansel could not add to his record 13 Dakar titles, but he did claim a podium behind team-mate Sainz thanks to four stage wins in his MINI Buggy.

Giniel De Villiers

- 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers finished fifth after a solid second week, while Polands Kuba Przygonski also placed high in the latter stages after a tough first week.

- Chilean quad driver Ignacio Casale also made it three Dakar titles, after he stayed close enough to Frenchman Simon Vitse to finish 18m 24s ahead with Polands Rafal Sonik third.

- Casale, 32, said: Im elated because it was a long, gruelling race. I had some problems during the second week, but we solved them as well as we could. We worked hard all year long with the mechanics and now I can celebrate this win. Thanks a lot and Viva Chile!

Matthias Walkner

- Russian Andrey Karginov added a second truck triumph to his 2014 title after he won an incredible seven stages to forge a huge 42m 26s victory over compatriot Anton Shibalov.

- Karginov, 43, admitted: I am happy that we managed to win. In two weeks we covered thousands of difficult kilometres of tough offroad routes.

- Team Kamaz Master colleague Dmitry Sotnikov could not complete a 1-2-3 as Belarusian driver Siarhei Viazovich drove well to seal his second Dakar podium.

Nasser Al-Attiyah

- Defending bike champion Toby Prices rollercoaster race ended with third place behind maiden winner Ricky Brabec as the American held off Chilean Pablo Quintanilla by 16m 26s.

- Price, 32, said: Its not the result we came for but, with the two weeks weve had, Im quite happy to keep my podium streak going. Ill be back and looking to get the #1 plate again.

- 2018 champion Matthias Walkner of Austria finished fifth, while Argentine Luciano Benavides produced a career best sixth with Slovakian Stefan Svitko 11th.

Stephane Peterhansel

- Spaniard Laia Sanz rode well again to finish in 18th as the highest female rider with Austrian sporting legend Martin Freinademetz holding on back in 68th.

- Sanz, 34, enthused: Ive started 10 Dakars and Ive finished all 10. This is something that is really difficult and its an achievement Im very proud of.

- The bike race will be remembered for the fatal stage seven crash suffered by Portuguese rider Paulo Gon alves, who was a much loved and respected rider within the bivouac.

Carlos Sainz

- Chiles Chaleco Lopez could not defend his SxS title, but he finished strongly to secure third behind maiden American winner Casey Currie with Russian Sergei Kariakin in second.

- Lopez, 44, claimed: We had a huge problem the day before yesterday, so a podium place isnt that bad after all. The first edition in Saudi Arabia was interesting.

- History was made when Frenchman Cyril Despres - alongside Swiss co-driver Mike Horn - became the first Dakar competitor to win stages in three different categories (bike, car and SxS) with Red Bull Off-Road Team USA debuting their OT3 by Overdrive vehicle.

Laia Sanz

- American Blade Hildebrand finished second on the final stage to wrap up an impressive race that included two stage wins, while fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Program member Mitch Guthrie Jr. won three stages to signal a bright future for the talented, young duo.

- Hildebrand declared: Theres still a lot work to go into this program to get it to where we want it to be, but there were lots of positive steps at this Dakar.

Top three overall results in each category

Car

1. Carlos Sainz (ESP)/Lucas Cruz (ESP) MINI Buggy 42h59m17s

2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota 6m21s

3. St phane Peterhansel (FRA)/Paulo Fiuza (PRT) MINI Buggy 9m58s

Bike

1. Ricky Brabec (USA) Honda 40h02m36s

2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI) Husqvarna 16m26s

3. Toby Price (AUS) KTM 24m06s

Truck

1. Andrey Karginov (RUS) Kamaz 46h33m36s

2. Anton Shibalov (RUS) Kamaz 42m26s

3. Siarhei Viazovich (BLR) Maz 02h04m42s

Side-by-side

1. Casey Currie (USA)/Sean Berriman (USA) Can-Am 53h25m52s

2. Sergei Kariakin (RUS)/Anton Vlasiuk (RUS) Can-Am 39m12s

3. Chaleco Lopez (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre (CHI) Can-Am 52m36s

Quad

1. Ignacio Casale (CHI) Yamaha 52h04m39s

2. Simon Vitse (FRA) Yamaha 18m24s

3. Rafal Sonik (POL) Yamaha 01h04m15s

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