With no service crews to assist at the finish and some 425 km to cover, Stage 7 of Dakar 2018 was billed as the “marathon” stage.
Toyota’s Giniel de Villiers posted the second-fastest time, trailing overall leader Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) by 12:05. Toyota Gazoo Racing rounded out the podium with Nasser Al-Attiyah closely following their teammates.
Al-Attiyah managed the third-place finish despite getting stuck on camel grass as well as dealing with a puncture. Bernhard ten Brinke (Toyota) was the seventh car to finish.
Stephane Peterhansel could manage just 20th on the day, thus losing the overall lead in his Peugeot.
On Stage 8, De Villiers lost some 20 minutes after becoming stuck in a deep hole.
“It was such a close call. I saw the hole a moment too late to avoid it, and then tried to power through. We very nearly made it but ended up getting stuck in a precarious position. We had to take out the spare wheels, jack up the car. We eventually got going again, but had a puncture mid-way through the stage,” said De Villiers.
As a result, the South African had to settle for ninth on the day, which saw him drop a position to fifth in the overall standings. Peterhansel bounced back to win the stage, and now sits in third overall, behind Al-Attiyah (who was third on the eighth stage) and ahead of Ten Brinke. Sainz is still leading.
Fans should note that Stage 9 was cancelled due to flooding, which means Dakar 2018 moves from Bolivia to Argentina without a racing stage. Stage 10 will take place between Salta and Belen.
Stage 7:
- C. Sainz (Peugeot) 04:49:26
- G. De Villiers (Toyota) +12:05
- N. Al Attiyah (Toyota) +14:19
- J. Przygonski (Mini) +20:56
- M. Prokop (Ford) +23:57
- L. Alvarez (Toyota) +28:49
- B. Ten Brinke (Toyota) +31:33
- S. Al Qassimi +39:30
- B. Garafulic (Mini) +54:4
- P. Van Merksteijn +57:21
Stage 8:
- S. Peterhansel (Peugeot) 05:15:18
- C. Despres (Peugeot) +00:49
- N. Al-Attiyah (Toyota) +02:12
- B. Ten Brinke (Toyota) +05:00
- C. Sainz (Peugeot) +07:04
- O. Terranova (Mini) +10:00
- J. Przygonski (Mini) +16:38
- S. Al Qassimi +21:20
- G. De Villiers (Toyota) +23:19
- 10. M. Prokop (Ford) +27:55
Overall (after Stage 8):
- C. Sainz (Peugeot) 27:04:00
- N. Al-Attiyah (Toyota) +01:06:37
- S. Peterhansel (Peugeot) +01:13:42
- B. Ten Brinke (Toyota) +01:23:00
- G. De Villiers (Toyota) +01:37:09
- J. Przygonski (Mini) +02:28:36
- M. Prokop (Ford) +02:43:30
- S. Al Qassimi (Peugeot) +02:55:42
- P. van Merksteijn (Toyota) +04:59:41
- N. Fuchs (Borgward) +06:34:09
