If De Mévius can hold on to second place, he will equal Jacky Ickx — © EPA-EFE
Carlos Sainz (Audi) is almost certain of a fourth overall victory in the Dakar after the eleventh stage. Sébastien Loeb (Hunter) lost 1h27:15 on Thursday and drops to third place. Guillaume de Mévius (Toyota Hilux) thus moves up to second place. The stage victory went to Guerlain Chicherit (Toyota Hilux) for the second day in a row.
The battle between the cars was entirely dominated by the duel between leader Sainz and first pursuer Loeb. After 132 km Loeb had to pull over and the battle was over. The Frenchman had to wait for his assistance car, but it had not yet arrived at the start of the stage. According to the Bahrain Raid Extreme team, Loeb damaged his suspension after a brutal landing. Thanks to the help of the Chinese YunXiang, who deployed some Hunters themselves, Loeb was able to repair his car. Ultimately, the Frenchman was able to resume the stage. Loeb lost almost an hour and a half.
Guerlain Chicherit won his second consecutive stage. The Mévius finished second and also moves up to second place in the standings. He took full advantage of Loeb’s bad luck and the official Toyota driver Moraes (Toyota Hilux).
With Chicherit’s victory, Belgian Overdrive Racing already has three stage victories in this Dakar. In recent years, Jean-Marc Fortin’s team had a significant share in Al-Attiyah’s final victory. Now that he has left the team and the official team remains somewhat below expectations, the Belgian team distinguishes itself at the highest level with its own cars.
If De Mévius can hold on to second place, he will equal Jacky Ickx, who finished second in both 1986 and 1989. Ickx is the only Belgian to ever win the Dakar, in 1983.
The last stage on Friday is 175 km. If De Mévius can hold on to second place, he will equal Jacky Ickx — © BELGA_HANDOUT