The 7th stage of the Dakar Rally 2020 leads the participants from the capital Riyadh over 741 km to Wadi Al-Dawasir. First, mighty sand dunes of the desert await the participants, over which they have to ride, on which they are shaken and which always carry the risk of getting stuck in them, followed by a never-ending flat stage on which they have to step on the gas for all it's worth. All in all, it's a black day, as the 2020 Dakar Rally laments its first fatality.
Frenchman Mathieu Serradori, who is in a promising 6th place, gets stuck in the sand today and loses over half an hour of time and therefore drops back to 8th place overall. In the leading trio everything is the same. Stéphane Peterhansel is doing well and fights his way into third place with his Mini Buggy. With his Toyota, Nasser Al-Attiyah can't drive as fast as the Minis, but with his instinct he crosses the desert like no European and maneuvers his way to 2nd place on the stage. With an average speed of over 130 km/h, the stage is one of the fastest of this year's Dakar. Carlos Sainz masters the stage best and takes the stage win for the second time and extends his lead in the overall classification.
"It was a fast stage with a lot of dunes. I was able to catch up with Stéphane Peterhansel, but there was too much dust and sand that he was kicking up, so I drove behind him in his dust cloud for a long time, but in the end I was able to get closer and took the stage win."
Carlos Sainz explained in an interview after the race.
Saudi Yazeed Al Rajhi remains in the race with 5th place on the day, as does Orlando Terranova in 8th place. Fernando Alonso drives strongly again and takes 6th place, thus moving up to 15th place overall.
For the bikers, the 7th stage proves to be not only the longest, but also the most tragic. For the Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves, this should not only be the 12th Dakar in which participates, but also his last, who comes to a fall on the 7th stage. 8 minutes after his fall, the rescue helicopter already arrives and flies him to the hospital, but it is too late. It is the first loss of a rider since the Dakar 2015 and his death overshadows the day and today's stage. The riders ahead, such as Ricky Brabec or Joan Barreda, know nothing of the misfortune and are racing for every second. After his setback in the last stage, Kevin Benafides rides today as if he wanted to prove to everyone that he is the fastest. On today's stage he is proving to be right. Toby Price had assisted Gonçalves and therefore lost time. Today it's not about points, but about solidarity among the riders.
English 
Deutsch 
Français 
Español 
Italiano