Al-Attiyah Extends Dakar Rally Lead with Stage 4 Win as Al-Rajhi Penalized

Nasser Al-Attiyah became the first repeat stage winner in the car class of the 2022 Dakar Rally on Wednesday, taking the longest special stage of the rally, Stage 4 to Riyadh. Al-Attiyah’s 3:54:40 was the quickest time through the 465-kilometer route thanks to a two-minute penalty to fellow Toyota driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi that dropped him from 14 seconds ahead of Al-Attiyah to fifth on stage. Former WRC champion Sebastien Loeb and WRC and Dakar champion Carlos Sainz completed the stage podium, with all three separated by just 52 seconds.

#205 Al Rajhi Yazeed (sau), Orr Michael (gbr), Overdrive Toyota, Toyota Hilux Overdrive, Auto FIA T1/T2, W2RC, action during the second stage of the Dakar 2022 between Hail and Al Artawiya, in Saudi Arabia on January 3, 2022 – photo Charly Lopez

On the motorcycles, Joan Barreda Bort scored his second stage win in three days, beating Pablo Quintanilla to the finish line by 3:37 for the second-largest margin of victory on the day. The largest margin belonged to Light Prototype class winner Seth Quintero, whose revenge tour after falling out of the overall running early in the event continued with yet another stage victory. Quintero’s time of 4:25:13 was nearly eight minutes faster than fellow Red Bull driver Guillaume De Mevius.

303 Quintero Seth (usa), Zenz Dennis (ger), Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team, OT3 – 02, T3 FIA, W2RC, action during the Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Hail and Al Artawiya, on January 3rd 2022 in Al Artawiya, Saudi Arabia – Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

All six incoming overall leaders maintained their top spots through the stage, with almost all scoring top five finishes on the day. SSV leader Austin Jones was second in class to Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira by only 10 seconds, Light Prototype leader Chaleco Lopez and truck leader Dmitry Sotnikov each finished third on the day, quad leader Pablo Copetti was fourth. The lone exception was motorcycle class leader Sam Sunderland, whose sixth place finish was still good enough to build his lead back up to an even three minutes over Matthias Walkner as Adrien Van Beveren finished outside of the top 10.

#88 Barreda Bort Joan (spa), Monster Energy Honda Team 2022, Honda CRF 450 Rally, Moto, Motul, action during the Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Hail and Al Artawiya, on January 3rd 2022 in Al Artawiya, Saudi Arabia – photo Florent Gooden / dppi

2022 Dakar Rally Stage 4 winners were as follows:

• Bikes: Joan Barreda Bort (ESP), 4:07:06
• Cars: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), 3:54:40
• Trucks: Eduard Nikolaev (RUS), 4:14:46
• Quads: Manuel Andujar (ARG), 5:12:20
• Light Prototype: Seth Quintero (USA), 4:25:13
• SSV: Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira (BRA), 4:44:05

173 Copetti Pablo (usa), Del Amo Motorsports / Yamaha Rally Team, Yamaha Raptor, Quad, Motul, action during the Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Hail and Al Artawiya, on January 3rd 2022 in Al Artawiya, Saudi Arabia – Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

2022 Dakar Rally overall leaders after Stage 4 are as follows:

• Bikes: Sam Sunderland (GBR), 15:30:01
• Cars: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), 13:26:02
• Trucks: Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS), 15:02:53
• Quads: Pablo Copetti (USA), 19:26:41
• Light Prototype: Chaleco Lopez (CHL), 16:08:33
• SSV: Austin Jones (USA), 16:38:08

The Dakar Rally continues tomorrow with Stage 5, one of two separate Riyadh loop stages, and 346 kilometers of special stage competition. Coverage of Stage 4 will air on the Olympic Channel tonight at 8PM ET, with extended highlights also streaming on NBC Sports digital platforms.