LA SERENA, Chile: Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah kept his hopes alive of winning the car section in the Dakar Rally as he won the ninth stage on Monday, the 170-kilometre special from Copiapo.Spanish cyclist Marc Coma won his third stage of the rally which may prove little consolation after he was penalised six hours at the weekend which put him out of contention for the overall title.
Al-Attiyah’s victory saw him close in on overall leader Volkswagen teammate Carlos Sainz, who was second, and holds a fragile lead of just 8min 36sec over the Qatari.
Al-Attiyah, who just missed out on an Olympic bronze medal in the 2004 Games when he finished fourth in the skeet shooting competition, was relieved to have gained what he saw as an invaluable win which gives him a real opportunity to snatch overall victory from Sainz.
“After Sunday’s stage I said I must take six minutes off Carlos’ lead because if he gained time on me on Monday then the team might start giving orders and I don’t need team orders,” said 39-year-old Al-Attiyah.
“Now victory is possible. The fight continues. I’m here to win the race and will try my best.”
Another Volkswagen driver Giniel de Villers of South Africa, last year’s winner, was third though he is out of contention to retain his title while another teammate American Mark Miller stayed third overall after finishing fifth.
Coma – who was penalised the six hours for an illegal tyre change – edged out France’s Cyril Despres, who remained the overall leader.
The Spaniard – who vainly protested his innocence over the charge – sounded like he couldn’t wait for the race to be over, having contemplated pulling out altogether when he was penalised.
“In the end, it was a good result for me,” he conceded.
“Thats one more day of the rally gone and one day nearer the finish.”
Despres for his part said he had thoroughly enjoyed his enthralling duel with Coma throughout the stage.
“It was a nice stage. Even if it was a short stage, it was intense,” said Despres.
“Over the first 70km we kept swapping the lead. First it was Marc Coma, then it was me.
“We must have overtaken each other 15 times. Neither of us wanted to give anything away and its proof that as riders we are very closely matched.
“In these type of rallys there are rarely final sprints but today (Monday) it was a matter of honour.”
Chile’s Francisco Lopez – winner of two stages – finished third in the stage and stayed in third place overall while Pal Ullevalseter of Norway was fourth on the stage and remains in second overall.
However, with a deficit of 1hr 21min to make up on Despres, the Norwegian realistically needs the Frenchman to suffer engine problems to have a chance of taking the overall title. — AFP