South African Henk Lategan moved back atop the overall standings after the 10th stage of the Dakar Rally on Wednesday won by Spain’s Ford driver Nani Roma.
Roma covered the 120km special in sand dunes from Haradh to Shubaytah in 2hr 6min 34sec, handing Ford their first Dakar stage win since 2015.
Brazil’s Lucas Moraes (Toyota) was second, 18sec adrift, with Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel (Taurus) rounding out the podium, at 1min 40sec.
“It’s been a tough rally for us from the beginning,” said Roma, a two-time Dakar winner (2004 on a motorbike, 2014 in the car category). “We tried to have a clean day. This morning we were so fast.
“We understood that we needed to set another speed. We are happy for the team. The car is good, a really strong car, and we are happy with how the team works.”
Overnight leader and home hope Yazeed al-Rajhi (Overdrive) lost precious minutes after becoming stuck in sand to hand Lategan, in his Toyota, the advantage.
The South African now sits 2min 27sec ahead of the Saudi driver in the general classification.
“It wasn’t the plan to go quickly today,” said Lategan. “We were actually going at a very nice and steady pace. Hopefully, there are some other guys behind us that were a little bit quicker so that they can open tomorrow.”
Rajhi remained in good spirits.
“We got stuck because we were taking it easy,” said Rajhi. “Everything is going good, that’s the most important. I have a good position, I hope. No pressure, I hope everything will go well.”
Thursday’s 11th stage, the Empty Quarter Challenge, features a testing 275km special around Shubaytah in which organisers said it was “not too late to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat or climb onto a podium” on a terrain riddled with pitfalls in gravel sand, as well as in the salt lakes in between.
The race to be crowned motorbike champion seems much more clear cut as Australia’s KTM rider Daniel Sanders holds a lead of more than 16 minutes on Honda’s Tosha Schareina of Spain.
The stage honours went to South Africa’s Michael Docherty, also riding a KTM.
The 30-year-old, who is well-acquainted with the desert and its challenges as he is based in the United Arab Emirates, timed 2hr 0min 3sec.
“I am very happy to be back in the dunes,” said Docherty.
“This is what I have been waiting for since the start of the Dakar.
“Even if it was short, it was good to be back in them.”
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