• The Dacia Sandriders team has completed its debut Dakar Rally with a flourish in Saudi Arabia today
• Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger finished in fourth place in the overall ranking
The Dacia Sandriders has completed its debut Dakar Rally with a flourish in Saudi Arabia today, as Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger set their fifth top-three stage time on an event ranked as international motorsport's ultimate challenge.
Having made its competition debut by winning the Rallye du Maroc last October, The Dacia Sandriders had set finishing the gruelling FIA World Rally-Raid Championship season opener as its key target. With two of its three sustainably fuelled Dacia Sandrider cars crossing the finishing line in Shubaytah, it was a case of mission accomplished.
The achievement was the culmination of an extraordinary team effort, which took on and overcame a myriad of challenges on varied and hugely testing terrain over two punishing weeks of competition.
For a new team contesting such a demanding event for the first time, there were some setbacks along the 7,828km route from the west to east of Saudi Arabia. But despite the unrelenting task facing The Dacia Sandriders, plenty of vital experience was gained for upcoming events, while there were also several notable highlights.
They include a stage win for Al-Attiyah and Boulanger, four top-10 stage times from Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, plus some impressive performances by Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin.
Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, and Frenchman Boulanger fought valiantly for the final podium place before settling for fourth in the overall ranking to underline the pace and potential of the Dacia Sandrider.
Their stage victory on Tuesday meant Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar Rally winner, became the only driver in the history of the event to clock the fastest stage time in 18 consecutive participations.
Although Al-Attiyah remains one stage victory away from matching the record of 50 wins, held jointly by fellow Dakar Rally legends Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen, he was second quickest on three stages.
KEY QUOTES
Tiphanie Isnard, Team Principal, The Dacia Sandriders said: 'First, I want to congratulate Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Timo Gottschalk, Toyota and Overdrive Racing for their victory. Yazeed has won his first Dakar at his 10th attempt in his home country, so this is fantastic for him. It's also evidence that to win the Dakar takes time and experience. As a team we have learned a lot during our first Dakar, each kilometre we covered we were able to build as a team. There was always a great mindset and we improved a lot. There is a lot of emotion and a lot of feeling right now and I am really proud of the team because they work so hard. This Dakar was so demanding, but they always did everything perfectly and always with good humour and the right attitude. We are a great team together and now we start our preparations for our next event.'
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders explained: 'The Dakar is not a small race, it's a big race and sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days. Now we have a lot of experience, we will come back very strong next year and to win because I am here to win the Dakar. This time it was not really working but we believe in ourselves and our Dacia Sandrider that we can win next year, 100 per cent. The second year is always easier, but I will also try to defend my FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title this year, I have won it three times and I have some good points from this event.'
Cristina Gutiérrez, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders continued: 'It has been a tough Dakar for us, the first time in the Ultimate class and the first time with The Dacia Sandriders. But I am so happy with what Pablo, and I achieved and so pleased with the experience we gained. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be part of this adventure with The Dacia Sandriders and I can't wait to put everything we have learned into practice on the next event we do. The Dakar is not easy and needed lots of hard work to get to the finish, not just by me and Pablo but also the entire team. They always supported us and were always there for us, so thank you to them. Now we'll get some rest, but we'll never stop pushing.'
GUTIÉRREZ AND MORENO: THE TRUE HEROES FOR THE DACIA SANDRIDERS
With their own chances of Dakar Rally success dashed by a power steering fault on Stage 2, Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno switched their focus to performing a crucial supporting role to their team-mates, regularly sacrificing their own prospects of climbing the leaderboard following their early delay.
That teamwork was particularly notable on Stage 4. Having helped Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger continue after their Dacia Sandrider suffered a suspension failure caused by the punishing terrain, Gutiérrez and Moreno came to the rescue again at the overnight halt in Al Ula following the completion of the first marathon stage.
With marathon stage rules preventing outside assistance apart from help provided by other competing crews, Moreno, a qualified mechanic, worked with The Dacia Sandriders' T5 crew to swap the gearboxes of both cars ready for Stage 5.
Gutiérrez and Moreno had earlier helped Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin with spare parts and a replacement tyre following their roll-on Stage 3 and also when an electrical issue struck Loeb and Lurquin's Dacia Sandrider on Stage 2.
The Spaniards, who spent the remainder of the event shadowing Al-Attiyah and Boulanger through the stages in case further assistance was required, were presented with a signed toolbox by members of The Dacia Sandriders team at the finish of Stage 5 in recognition of their efforts.
But aside from their heroic teamwork, Gutiérrez and Moreno recorded several rapid stage times on their first Dakar Rally in the Ultimate category, including the fifth fastest of all on Stage 1 and the sixth best on Stage 10.
FUN WHILE IT LASTED FOR LOEB
Sébastien Loeb's Dakar Rally challenge might have ended after three stages, but the Frenchman was still on impressive form for The Dacia Sandriders, running as high as second in the provisional order after 409km of the 967km 48H Chrono stage on 5 January.
But Loeb's hopes unravelled when he and co-driver Fabian Lurquin were forced to stop for 40 minutes on Stage 2 due to an electrical issue. Their efforts to make up lost time on Stage 3 were undone when the Franco-Belgian pairing was unfortunate to roll at the 12km point.
Although they were uninjured in the high-speed incident thanks to the extensive safety features incorporated into the design of the Dacia Sandrider, the car suffered extensive damage to the extent they were unable to continue into the fourth stage.
'It was really frustrating to fly home instead of being in the car fighting out on the stages,' Loeb said. 'We just got caught out by a bad compression, simple as that. These things happen, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.'
Loeb and Lurquin will be back in action for The Dacia Sandriders on round two of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, next month's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Photo credit: Dacia posted on conceptcarz.com
