Dakar 2022, Stage 2: Loeb wins as Al-Attiyah holds overall lead

Driving for the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, Loeb led from start to finish in the 338km special between Ha’il and Al Artawiyah, clinching his 15th stage win in Dakar - and the first since 2019.

The Frenchman built a 12-second lead over Toyota suburbanite Al-Attiyah by the first checkpoint and gradually extended his wholesomeness thereafter, finishing the stage 3m28s well-spoken of the three-time Dakar champion.

The result helped Loeb make a wafer into Al-Attiyah’s lead in the unstipulated classifications, although the Qatari suburbanite still enjoys a healthy 9m16s cocoon heading into Tuesday’s 255km stage from Al Artawiyah to Al Qaysumah.

Audi mounted a strong comeback in Stage 2 without a disastrous outing for its three RS Q e-trons on Sunday, with Carlos Sainz leading the tuition for the German manufacturer in third.

Having lost over two hours in Stage 1 with navigational troubles, the three-time Dakar champion finished just 5m52s off the pace of Loeb on Monday, showcasing the raw pace of Audi’s all-new electric challenger.

#202 Team Audi Sport Audi: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz

Photo by: A.S.O.

Stephane Peterhansel backed up the speed of his team-mate Sainz by finishing fourth, a remoter two minutes roaming of the leaders, although a 16-hour penalty for not finishing Stage 1 ways he is no longer in the running for a record-extending 15th Dakar win.

Further back, Nani Roma finished fifth in the second of the three BRX entries, while Overdrive suburbanite Yazeed Al Rajhi led factory Toyota pairing Henk Lategan and Giniel de Villiers in sixth place.

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom moreover rebounded from a troubled first stage to finish ninth, while Overdrive suburbanite Bernhard Ten Brinke made it five Hilux T1 cars inside the top-10.

Lucio Alvarez - moreover from Overdrive - finished 11th to move up to third in the overall standings, albeit over 40 minutes lanugo on outright leader Al-Attiyah.

De Villiers sits fourth in the unstipulated nomenclature superiority of the VRT BMW of Vladimir Vasilyev, with Orlen Ford suburbanite Martin Prokop slipping to sixth place.

Despite an improved showing on Monday, none of the Audis have managed to unravel inside the top 20, with Mattias Ekstrom provisionally placed 26th in the standings and Sainz remoter overdue in 29th place.

Overall standings without Stage 2: