The Latest Breaking News from Nasser AlAttiyah

Winning the Dakar Rally is one of the things that every driver in the world dreams of, but it is something that very few can achieve. Whether by quality or luck, you also need the support of a great team, such as Toyota, which, with Nasser Al Attiyah, has won…

Sainz led almost the entire way in the 46th edition of Dakar in Saudi Arabia, eventually claiming the overall victory by 1hr20m25s over the Overdrive Toyota of Guillaume de Mevius.

Loeb made a low-key start to Sunday’s 483km test between Riyadh and Al-Duwadimi, but the nine-time World Rally champion was gradually able to make his way to the front, taking his third stage victory of the year with a margin of 7m06s over Toyota’s Lucas Moraes.

Although yet to be officially announced, it is widely believed that Audi will pull the plug on its Dakar programme after the 46-edition of the rally-raid ends next week, having made its debut just three years ago in 2022 with RS Q e-tron.

As the 549km test around Shubaytah resumed on Friday, Loeb sat third in the order behind Audi duo Carlos Sainz Sr and Mattias Ekstrom, with 5m19s to make up and only a third of the distance remaining.

Al-Rajhi dropped out of the fight for victory when he crashed into a dune at the start of the 48-hour chrono stage, suffering severe damage to his Toyota Hilux. 

Prodrive driver Loeb sat a distant ninth in the general classification heading into the fourth stage in Saudi Arabia, having lost a considerable amount of time on the opening day due to punctures and a broken rear tow link - and again on Monday with more tyre troubles.

In an ultra-competitive Al Duwadimi to Al Salamiya pass covering 438km, which saw the stage lead swap between multiple runners, a four-way victory fight developed between Toyota’s Moraes, Audi’s Mattias Ekstrom, Overdrive’s Al-Rajhi and defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah for Prodrive. 

Dakar Rally veteran Stephane Peterhansel notched up a record-equalling 50th stage win on Sunday as Spanish rider Carles Falcon was reported in a "serious condition" after crashing in Saudi Arabia.