The third stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally saw Carlos Sainz Sr take the overall race lead while Fernando Alonso had his best stage result so far.
Here are some of today’s highlights:
In the cars class, Carlos Sainz took the overall race lead when he won the third stage by a margin of 4:19 over Jakub Przygonski. Though defending race champion Nasser Al-Attiyah initially finished the stage 3:31 behind Sainz in the second position, he was assessed a three minute penalty. The penalty dropped Al-Attiyah to fifth overall.
Yasir Seaidan finished the stage in the third position, 5:28 behind, while Fernando Alonso finished in the fourth position, 6:14 off of Sainz’s pace.
Tuesday’s fourth-place finish has been the best so far for the two-time Formula One World Champion, who finished a disappointing 63rd in the second stage after his car sustained damage when it hit a rock.
Alonso now is ranked 32nd in the overall standings.
Overall: Carlos Sainz holds an advantage of 7:55 over Nasser Al-Attiyah.
In bikes, Ricky Brabec crossed all six checkpoints as the fastest rider to win by 5:56 over Jose Ingacio Cornejo. Kevin Benavides finished third, 7:22 behind, while Stage 2 winner Toby Price finished fifth.
Overall: Ricky Brabec holds an advantage of 4:43 over Kevin Benavides.
In side by sides, Gerrard Farres Guell won by 0:15 over Sergei Kariakin. Meanwhile, American Casey Currie finished third, 1:37 behind. Currie’s third consecutive top 5 finish was enough for him to take the lead over Francisco Lopez Contardo in the overall standings.
Overall: Casey Currie holds an advantage of 0:15 over Francisco Lopez Contardo.
In quads, Giovanni Enrico won by 1:01 over Simon Viste, while Ignacio Casale finished third, 3:29 behind. Despite being denied his third straight stage win, Casale added more than five minutes to his overall advantage over Rafal Sonik.
Overall: Ignacio Casale holds an advantage of 14:29 over Rafal Sonik.
In trucks, Andrey Karginov won by 4:54 over Stage 2 winner Siarhei Viazovich. Stage 1 winner Anton Shibalov finished third, 11:13 behind.
Overall: Siarhei Viazovich holds an advantage of 2:18 over Andrey Karginov.
Stage Wins
Cars: [1] Vaidotas Zala (Stage 1), [1] Giniel De Villiers (Stage 2) and [1] Carlos Sainz (Stage 3)
Bikes: [1] Toby Price (Stage 1), [1] Ross Branch (Stage 2) and [1] Ricky Brabec (Stage 3)
Side-by-sides: [1] Aron Domzala (Stage 1), [1] Francisco Lopez Contardo (Stage 2) and [1] Gerard Farres Guell (Stage 3)
Quads: [2] Ignacio Casale (Stage 1 and Stage 2) and Giovanni Enrico (Stage 3)
Trucks: [1] Anton Shibalov (Stage 1), [1] Siarhei Viazovich (Stage 2) and Andrey Karginov (Stage 3)
Highlights of Stage Three will air on NBCSN this evening at 6:00 p.m. ET. The rally runs through Jan. 17.