Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) drivers continue to hold positions in the top 10 at the Dakar Rally 2021.
Sebastien Loeb and Nani Roma had to make the 813km journey from Wadi Ad-Dawasir to Riyadh yesterday, taking on 476km of road and 337km of special stage driving.
The previous day’s driving was pure desert and dunes, threatening navigational challenges, but with vast open expanses to allow Loeb and Roma to show the Hunter’s speed. In contrast, yesterday’s stage offered long winding desert and dirt tracks designed to test the driver’s technical ability, but also provide a chance for them to really enjoy themselves behind the wheel.
With nine World Rally Championship titles to his name, Sebastien Loeb, in the #305 Hunter, needed no invitation in using his experience with this type of driving. Avoiding any punctures but with a slight navigational error, Loeb finished the stage fourth but was handed a five minute penalty for speeding on the stage, resulting in a final stage ranking of seventh with a time of 02:43:35, +7:36 off the stage leader. The time penalty now puts Loeb in seventh overall.
Nani Roma, driving the #311 Hunter, continues to climb the rankings as he and co-driver Alex Winocq cement their partnership that started just days before the first stage of the rally. Roma completed stage four with a time of 02:49:39, +13:40 off the stage leader. This earned Roma 13th for the day and 10th overall, with a deficit of +1:17:50 to the overall leader.
Roma said: “It was a good day but not easy. A long route with plenty of fast and twisting tracks in some areas, and a lot of dunes. We are happy though; the car is still performing fantastically. Tomorrow we are expecting a harder day though, so we must take some time to rest and let the team prepare the car, but we are excited for the challenge.”
Qatar’s triple champion Nasser Al Attiyah took his third stage win in a row to chip away at Stephane Peterhansel’s overall lead.
The Toyota driver ended the fourth day of action four minutes and 58 seconds adrift of Peterhansel.