Dakar 2020 Stage 10: Carlos Sainz extends lead in a shortened stage, Alonso rolls over his Toyota Hilux
The 608km Stage 10 (Special Stage - 534km) of the 2020 Dakar Rally was due to run from Haradh to Shubaytah. However, bad weather conditions forced the organisers to cut short the proceedings for the day and therefore, results for the stage were declared after just 223km (for the Cars category)
By Divyank K. Bansal
Stage 10 of the 2020 Dakar Rally had to be cut short due to bad weather conditions. This allowed the frontrunners to preserve their lead in the Car & Bike categories.
The 608km Stage 10 (Special Stage - 534km) of the 2020 Dakar Rally was due to run from Haradh to Shubaytah. However, bad weather conditions forced the organisers to cut short the proceedings for the day and therefore, results for the stage were declared after just 223km (for the Cars category). The bikers, on the other hand, continued for 345km before the stage was neutralised.
Sherco TVS' Adrien Metge ended up hurting his back during a jump, which resulted in the French rider finishing Stage 10 in 29th place. However, he managed to hold on to his overall 12th place. For those not aware, Metge is the only Sherco TVS rider left who is still in the running for the overall classification. As for the leaders in the Bike category, team Monster Energy Honda dominated the Bike category with a 1-2-3 stage finish. While Brabec's teammate Joan Barreda Bort claimed the stage win, he himself took second place, followed by Kevin Benavides in third. In the overall rankings though, much hasn't changed as Brabec continues to be at the spot, with a comfortable lead of over 25 minutes over second-placed Pablo Quintanilla. Meanwhile, Bort has pipped Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) to take third place overall as the latter has fallen back to fourth.
In the Cars category, Carlos Sainz (Bahrain JCW X-Raid) took full advantage of his rivals getting lost in the shortened stage - his teammate Stephane Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) both lost their way trying to locate 23km waypoint. The result? Peterhansel finished the stage in 10th place while defending champion Al-Attiyah crossed the finish line in 17th. As for Sainz, he topped the stage. Thanks to this, Sainz leads both Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah by more than 18 minutes! Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso (Toyota Gazoo Racing) caused much drama in the stage as the Spaniard rolled his Toyota Hilux over as a result of an awkward landing from a dune jump. Though he was able to continue driving, he lost more than an hour in removing the windshield of his truck, resulting in a 56th place stage finish. This has pushed him back t0 14th place overall.
Overall classification after Stage 10 (Bikes):
1st - Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda)
2nd - Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna)
3rd - Joan Barreda Bort (Monster Energy Honda)
12th - Adrien Metge (Sherco TVS)
Overall classification after Stage 10 (Cars):
1st - Carlos Sainz Sr. (Bahrain JCW X-Raid)
2nd - Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing)
3rd - Stephane Peterhansel (Bahrain JCW X-Raid)
14th - Fernando Alonso (Toyota Gazoo Racing)
Read more:
Dakar 2020 Stage 9: Sherco TVS' Lorenzo Santolino retires, Fernando Alonso enters top 10
