Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin emerged as the winners of the sixth stage on Friday, preceded by various tactical maneuvers. The duo is currently third in the standings and will need to make up half an hour on three-time winner Carlos Sainz in the second week.
The Dakar is an endurance race where both man and machine are put to the test, with tactics also playing a significant role. Lurquin explained that they deliberately missed a waypoint on Wednesday to receive a 15-minute penalty, causing them to leave later on Thursday. This tactic was based on the assumption that the first cars would lose time, allowing those starting later to make up more time. However, this did not go as planned due to the presence of traces left behind by two SSVs from the organization and a strong performance by Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Lurquin described the stage itself as very tough, involving over 500 km of sand and immense dunes over two days. He noted that they had to be careful with their pace and fuel consumption, and that there were a few minor technical issues along the way. Ultimately, they finished the stage with a win, ending up 30 minutes behind Sainz and 10 minutes behind Ekström. Looking ahead to the next week, they will need to pursue two Audis, but first, they have a day of rest.