Dakar Rally 2020: Stage 8

The 8th stage of the Dakar Rally 2020 begins as the 7th ended, with the thought of the death of Paulo Gonçalves, to whom comforting words and a minute of silence are dedicated at the drivers' meeting. Depressing. In honor of Paulo Gonçalves, the bikers and quads do not drive on this stage. On 713 km, the cars make the round around Wadi Al-Dawasir through dunes and through mountain and valley.

The bikers and quads riders forego the ride of the 8th stage of the Dakar Rally 2020, dedicating it to the Portuguese biker Paulo Gonçalves, who died the day before. This is real solidarity among bikers, really impressive and touching. Quite a great gesture!

With the bikers out of action today, it's the cars' turn earlier. Carlos Sainz is the first to start the race as the leader. But now the first tracks are missing and he navigates his way through untouched nature, which is treacherous. In the end he loses over a frightening 19 minutes to the day's winner and crosses the finish line in 15th place. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Stéphane Peterhansel are also unlucky today, crossing the finish line in 11th and 9th respectively. But it's the day for Orlando Terranova, who can make up some ground with 3rd place. Formula 1 World Champion and Le Mans star Fernando Alonso drives his best race so far today and takes second place of the day, making up another two places. And Frenchman Mathieu Serradori is having a good laugh today. After yesterday's setback, which cost him two places, he can shine with today's stage win and make up ground again. Nothing has changed yet in the overall classification at the top, but the gaps have become shorter.