The Dacia Sandriders have reached the midway point of Desafío Ruta 40 with a place on the provisional podium after a typically standout drive from Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin on round three of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.
Despite opening the road throughout the longest stage of the Argentine event – a 409 kilometre timed route starting and finishing in San Rafael with sections through the El Nihuil dunes and on high-speed salt flats – Al-Attiyah called on all his pace and pedigree aboard his sustainablefuelled Dacia Sandrider to shine.
In the process, the Qatari, who gave The Dacia Sandriders their 22nd stage win in the FIA World Rally Championship (W2RC) on Tuesday, moved up from fifth place to third in the overall ranking after he posted the fourth fastest time alongside his Belgian navigator Lurquin.
Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger also excelled with a measured drive on Stage 3, recording the second fastest time for four W2RC points. As a result, the world championshipleading Frenchmen head into the penultimate day of Desafío Ruta 40 tomorrow (Thursday) having moved up from eighth to fifth.
Wednesday’s third stage proved one to forget for reigning W2RC champion Lucas Moraes, however. After reaching the first time check at 33 kilometres second quickest, the Brazilian was forced to retire for the day with damage to the rear suspension of his Dacia Sanrider sustained in an accidental collision with a rival competitor.
Having gone fifth fastest during Stage 2 on Tuesday, Moraes had been confident of making further progress today. Instead, he and navigator Dennis Zenz went no further than the 63-kilometre mark where they were recovered by a support crew from The Dacia Sandriders.
Although Moraes and Zenz are expected to restart on Stage 4, their hopes of a strong overall finish are at an end.
The penultimate day of Desafío Ruta 40 on Thursday takes crews on a demanding route from San Rafael back to San Juan via the Andes mountains.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Actually, it was an interesting stage because we open all day and we don’t know the speed compared to other drivers, but we tried to do our job without any mistake, except in one place where we lose two minutes. We kept going, a little push without any risk and I would say it was a good day for us. Fabian did a good job, always focusing. To finish P4 after opening the longest stage of Desafío Ruta 40 this is not bad. In the dunes at the start there were a lot of lines, it was not easy for us, but we did a really good job and tomorrow I will have a good road position. There will be nothing left and we try to do our best. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a good day, no problem in the stage. We tried to find the right rhythm. Maybe I was too careful in the stones, but we didn’t want to have more punctures, so I went carefully in all the stoney areas. After that, in the rest of the stage, I tried to push quite hard, and the feeling was good so no problem at all. »
LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Not the day that we wanted here on Desafío Ruta 40 for sure. The race today started really well for us, we were right there on the pace. Then, on the first section of dunes, we had an off-piste for five or six kilometres, it went well, we followed the cap, but we were a little too much to the left, but we managed to find the waypoint. Then we turned round thinking we were on the right path and, suddenly, the car of João Ferreira came, and we hit each other. This rally is really tough, especially on the dunes, but I want to apologise because it was a big impact. But I am glad they are okay, and we are okay. Tough day for us and for the team also. I hope we can rebound tomorrow and give at least a stage win because we’re going to fight on from now until the finish of the rally. »
ÉDOUARD BOULANGER (FRANCE), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « The navigation was nice, a nice day and one of the nicest stages that I can remember with the landscape. Sometimes the navigation was a bit rough, for sure, but nothing dramatic. Of course, we had a good starting position with some lines, which helps. »
DESAFÍO RUTA 40 STAGE 3 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL) – San Rafael-San Rafael
Stage distance: 409km Liaison distance: 166km Total distance: 575km
2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 4h16m10s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h19m49s
DNF Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER)
DESAFÍO RUTA 40 ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 3 (UNOFFICIAL)
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +5m28s
5. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +8m09s
Time and position TBC for Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Dennis Zenz (GER)
DESAFÍO RUTA 40: THE BIG NUMBER
409: At 409 kilometres, no stage on Desafío Ruta 40 is longer in terms of the timed distance than today’s route, which started and finished in San Rafael.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 4, MAY 28
Stage four peaks at 3110 metres high as Desafío Ruta 40 heads back to San Juan via the Andes mountains, complete with technical, rocky sections and fesh-fesh sand. The stage is rated as ‘tough, but also wild’ by the event organisers. Wildlife, such as guanacos (part of the llama family) and zorros (grey foxes) are expected to be visible along the route.
Stage distance: 306km Liaison distance: 341km Total distance: 647km
Linda Hirvonen,