Peugeot drivers Sebastien Loeb, Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel took the top three positions on the 330 km Stage 4 of Dakar 2018, while Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s top prospects struggled.
Meanwhile, Mini’s Miko Hirvonen posted the fourth-fastest time on the day, some 34 minutes behind Loeb.
The result sees Peterhansel retain the lead in the overall standings, with Loeb in second and Sainz third. The Hilux of Nasser Al-Attiyah was hit by multiple punctures on the stage, which saw the Qatari driver finish 11th and drop to fourth overall.
“Even so, we still feel that we are part of the fight. This race is far from over, and we’ll just keep pushing on,” Al-Attiyah said.
Giniel de Villiers, meanwhile, lost 01:13:40 on a stage in which he finished 17th, pushing him down to eighth in the overall standings.
“It was a similar story to Nasser’s. Punctures and soft dunes put paid to our attack, but we’re still in the game. And the Hilux never missed a beat, which boosts our confidence in the car,” De Villiers said.
Also in a Hilux, Bernhard ten Brinke took eighth on the day, to move up to fifth overall.
South Africa’s Hennie de Klerk in a South Racing Volkswagen Amarok finished Stage 4 in 47th place, putting him in 34th position overall. Lucio Alvarez, with South African navigator Rob Howie beside him in a Hilux, posted the seventh-fastest time on the fourth stage, moving up to 20th overall.
Stage 4:
- Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) 03:57:53
- Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) +01:35
- Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot) +03:16
- Mikko Hirvoinen (Mini) +34:36
- Eugenio Amos (Buggy) +35:36
- Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi (PH-Sport) +40:29
- Lucio Alvarez (Toyota) +41:05
- Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota) +42:22
- Yazeed Al Rajhi (Mini) +43:05
- Martin Prokop (Ford) +47:04
Overall:
- Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot) 10:36:07
- Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) +06:55
- Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) +13:06
- Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) +58:48
- Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota) +1:10:24
- Eugenio Amos (Buggy) +1:19:42
- Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi (PH-Sport) +1:21:09
- Giniel De Villiers +1:21:47
- Martin Prokop (Ford) +1:22:44
- Jakub Przygonski +1:35:30
