MOTORSPORT: Aussie’s new high in Dakar

Australian motorcycle racer Toby Price has won his second stage of this year’s Dakar Rally, while Sebastien Loeb has won his third in the cars.

Peugeot filled the top three spots again in the latest stage overnight, which has taken the field into mountainous Bolivia, while Price – winner of the first two-wheel stage completed on Tuesday – is back up to third after his latest success on his KTM.

Mini’s defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah claims he has “no chance” of retaining his mantle in the event, saying it is “impossible” with his four-wheel-drive to beat the two-wheel-drive Peugeot 2008 DKRs unless they break.

The Qatari has three Peugeots ahead of him but is still less than 15 minutes off the lead with more than a week to go before the finish at Rosario in Argentina.

Last night’s competition was the second leg of a mini-marathon within the marathon rally raid, with more than 327km of special sections plus another 300km after a total of almost 630km the previous day, including 349km of specials. Only tyres could be changed between the two legs and the machines washed.

KTMs finished 1-2-3 overnight after two days of Honda dominance in the two-wheel category and Price is just 1 minute 47 seconds behind the leader, Portugal’s Paulo Goncalves on a Honda, who was only 12th on the latest stage.

Price’s Slovakian teammate Stefan Svitko is just two seconds ahead of him, while Spaniard Joan ‘Bang Bang’ Barreda on a Honda is 40 seconds behind him – although he would be leading if not for penalties.

Five-time world enduro champion Antoine Meo was second fastest aboard his KTM on the latest special, but the Frenchman, a Dakar rookie, dropped to eighth in the day’s classifications after a five-minute penalty.

Price – third on his Dakar debut last year, when he won one stage – was mindful this morning that there is still a long way to go this year.

“This marathon stage was definitely difficult with the navigation – I had to stay on top of the game,” said the 28-year-old from Singleton, NSW.

“I made a couple of little errors. It was a pretty crazy track.

“I know we’ve got the stage win, but we’ve just got to keep pushing along and do what we can.

“All in all, we’re stoked though.

“We’ve got another long day tomorrow (a 542km loop around Uyuni in Bolivia’s south-west and 723km in total).

“Fingers crossed. There's still a long way to go.

“We can’t count on things just yet. Today is only day five. We’ve got another seven or so stages to go and it’s a long way.

“Anything can happen between now and then (January 16).”

The Australians competing in the cars, Czech-born Peter Jerie and his navigator Dale Moscatt, were 38th on the latest stage and are 36th overall. They have incurred six minutes of penalties in their Toyota HiLux, prepared by Germany’s South Racing, and are 2 hours 52 minutes and 12 seconds behind Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena.

Loeb and Elena continue to stun Dakar veterans as navigation now has become a big factor – something new to them after years of pace-noted events in the World Rally Championship, which they won a record nine times.

After four days of special stages – the first scheduled for Sunday-Monday, Australian time, was cancelled because of floods in Argentina after fierce storms – they lead this 38th Dakar, the eighth in South America, by 7 minutes 48 seconds.

Loeb set the pace throughout the latest stage while Spaniard Carlos Sainz grabbed second for the day ahead of France’s “Monsieur Dakar” Stephane Peterhansel, the previous day’s victor, to give Peugeot another trifecta.

Peterhansel, a record 11-time overall Dakar winner on two wheels and four, is second to Loeb, while Sainz is 13 minutes 26 seconds behind the leading Frenchman.

MINI's top gun, Al-Attiyah, is 50 seconds behind Sainz and ahead of two Toyota HiLuxes, but his mind is preoccupied by whether Loeb can be caught by his Peugeot teammates, let alone him.

“It’s unbelievable! Yesterday and today never have I pushed in my life like this ... drove at more than 100 per cent,” Al-Attiyah said.

“But we have no chance against the Peugeots. No chance. It’s impossible.

“If the Peugeots don’t stop, it’s difficult to catch them.

“I say really well done to Peugeot, because completing two marathon days without any technical problems is very, very impressive.

“Their team is working very, very well.

“From the first day until now, the Peugeots have won every stage.

“I am so impressed with Peugeot.

“They are doing a really good job and were testing since last year a lot. Well done to Peugeot.

“I know the [Mini] buggy is fast everywhere, even on the top speed bits.

“The problem is that the Mini has not really improved in development.

“We did what we could do, but well done to Peugeot.

“I just need to concentrate on my job now.”

Loeb said his 2008 DKR had been “perfect” throughout the event, Elena had adapted well to navigation and he was “really happy” with his third stage win in his first outing in the Dakar.

“I think we lost maybe 20 seconds at a junction,” Loeb said.

“Daniel told me the right way, but I went wrong, but for the rest it was OK.

“We had some very high altitude too.

“It was a good day and tomorrow we will be first on the road, so it maybe will be another story, but it’s a part of the experience that we have to take.

“Yesterday I tried to manage the car in preparation for the mountain stage. Today it was the second stage [of the ‘mini-marathon’] and I had absolutely no problems with the car, so I tried to push harder and I got the result.

“Tomorrow may be more difficult. It’s got some navigation like today. We will see how we can manage that.”

Related reading: More news from Dakar 2016