REPORT – 2018 DAKAR RALLY - JUST 4X4S

REPORT – 2018 Dakar Rally

In what was one of the toughest Dakars in the event’s history and certainly the toughest since the rally’s relocation to South America, Carlos Sainz was victorious in this year’s 40th Dakar rally.

Sainz previously won the Dakar with Volkswagen in 2010, but has had a wretched run in recent years, forced to retire from the past five Dakars in succession.

The turnaround for the 55-year-old Spaniard this year was as much to do with the failures of those around him as it was with his own skills and the reliability of his Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi racer.

2018 Challengers

Sainz was part of the Team Total Peugeot squad that had won the past two Dakars and also consisted of Stephane Peterhansel (winner in 2016 and 2017), Sebastien Loeb and Cyril Despres.

Up against Peugeot, the main contenders would by the modified Toyota Hiluxes from Gazoo Racing SA that included past Dakar winners Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giniel de Villiers, as well as Bernhard ten Brinke. After securing podiums in the past, rule concessions this year (allowing less weight and more suspension travel) were thought to give the South African team a chance of victory.

X-Raid had entered a fleet of seven Minis (see JUST 4x4s #339), including three all-new buggies designed to take advantage of the rules that have benefitted the 2WD Peugeots. Like the other leading teams, X-Raid boasted experienced and successful drivers in their lineup, led by 2014 winner Nani Roma.

Sand Start

The 8793-kilomtere 2018 Dakar got underway in Peru, with the opening day’s stages consisting almost entirely of challenging sand dunes. Al-Attiyah won the opening stage, while Loeb had a horror start with brake failure in his 3008DKR Maxi and 13-time Dakar winner confessed to “driving like a granny”!

Despres won Stage 2 in the dunes of the Ica desert, leading home a Peugeot 1-2-3 with Peterhansel and Loeb in tow. By the following stage, Peterhansel had the overall lead and would hold it for the next three days.

Stage 4 saw competitors start along the beach of San Juan de Marcona, after which Despres hit a rock that destroyed his rear suspension and effectively reduced him to the role of assistant to his team mates. Al-Attiyah hit trouble on the same stage when he got bogged in sand for almost an hour.

On Stage 5 in the Tanaka Desert, it was Loeb’s turn to come undone. Dodging a fallen bike competitor, the Frenchman dropped into a sandhole that proved almost impossible to get out of. The impact also broke the tailbone of Loeb’s navigator, ending their 2018 campaign. Sainz, meanwhile, was working his way up through the order to be second overall; 30 minutes behind Peterhansel, who’d scored his first stage win of 2018 on Stage 5.

Enter Bolivia, Exit Peterhansel

Trading sand for mountain tracks and quicker sections as the Dakar moved from Peru to Bolivia on Stage 6, it was status quo at the front, with Sainz holding second overall behind Peterhansel.

Following a rest day in the Bolivian capital, La Pa, Stage 7 would be pivotal to the rally’s outcome. Heavy rain had impacted the dirt and sand tracks of the 425km stage, but it was a rock that’d cause Peterhansel the most problems. Avoiding a stalled quad bike competitor, last year’s winner hit a rock that destroyed his left rear suspension. While eventually able to resume (with help from Despres), Peterhansel dropped to 20th on the stage and third overall; Sainz winning to hold more than an hour’s lead over Al-Attiyah.

Heavy rain would impact Stage 8, but have no impact on the overall classification, despite Peterhansel winning the day’s stage from Despres. Worsening weather eventually led to the cancellation of Stage 9.

Peter’s Charge

With no chance of victory, and consequently nothing to lose, Peterhansel stormed to another win on Stage 10 to reclaim second overall behind Sainz as the rally entered Argentina. Al-Attiyah suffered broken suspension on his HiLux that slowed his progress, while Khalid Al Qassimi in a non-factory Peugeot scored his best stage result of fourth.

Dutchman ten Brinke broke through for his first stage win the following day, while the Peugeots ran virtually line astern for the whole stage.

At 523km, Stage 12 would be the longest of the whole rally, with weather adding to the challenge of mixed terrain (sand, fast gravel tracks and larger rocks) and fatigue. Despite two punctures, Al-Attiyah won the stage from Peterhansel, but didn’t carve enough out of Sainz’s overall lead to threaten for victory.

Al-Attiyah won again in the dunes and fine fesh-fesh sand on the penultimate stage, his fourth on this year’s rally. Peterhansel hit a tree and damaged his power steering, but there were no such mistakes from Sainz. All but assured of victory, the Spaniard was driving an extremely controlled race, even allowing Al-Attiyah to take 20 minutes out of his lead, knowing he had 40 more in hand ahead of the finish at Cordoba.

Sainz Prevails

The final day’s 120km was a formality, with de Villiers taking the stage win from Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah, but it was all about Sainz who finally tasted victory after not even finishing the rally for the past five years.

“I’m so, so happy. We managed to do it,” Sainz enthused. “I think I really deserved this victory because we have put a lot of effort into this car.

“I’ve had ups and downs but I’ve always tried my best. Especially this rally. It has been so, so hard.”

The brutal nature of the 2018 Dakar was evidenced by the fact that just 55 per cent of the starters finished, but in a race of attrition, Sainz kept his cool and kept out of trouble.

With Peugeot’s withdrawal from Dakar following this victory, the futures of Peterhansel and Sainz remain unclear, with both expected to announce their retirement from rally raid competition.